Angel Dark
by DOKChairman
Summary: Okay people, here it is. The latest chapter in the saga that is Angel Dark. You asked for it, so please review. I mean, everyone who said continue better review. Please! Not that I'm begging or anything. Nope, not at all. Hope you enjoy.
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** Angel Dark

**Author:** DOKChairman

**Time:** No particular time frame.  Assume everything that has happened up to Counteragent is fair game.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Alias.  If I did, Dixon would actually appear in an episode this season, Marshall would be in practically every scene (that guy cracks me up so much), Sydney and Vaughn would at the very least admit that they have feelings for each other, and most importantly of all, Sydney would wear even less clothes than she usually does.  Unfortunately for my bank account, J.J. Abrams, Bad Robot Productions, and ABC own Alias.  I own nothing so don't sue me.

**Author's Note:** After the great feedback that I received for my first Alias fic, _Duality_, I decided to have another go at it.  Mucho thanks to everyone who reviewed my story, your comments were very welcome.  I've decided that since almost everyone told me that I nailed Vaughn's character dead on, this story will be about him as well.  Of course, it wouldn't be an Alias fic without Sydney, so don't worry. 

**Author's Note:** This story will be about Vaughn's past, something not really explored on the show.  I realize that Alias is a TV show, and so by its very nature is not very realistic, but I refuse to believe that the CIA would give control over an agent as important as Sydney to a man who has had no experience in the spy business.  I mean you can work for the CIA and not be a spy.  This is my take on what Vaughn did before becoming Sydney's handler.  The man had to have at least some experience beforehand.  Especially considering his age, he has to be at least in his early thirties.  I don't think he's been sitting behind a desk for the entire time he has worked for the CIA.

**Author's Note:** A lot of people have made an issue of the Vaughn/Alice relationship on the show.  Personally, I don't think it's that big of an issue.  It's obvious that he is not in love with the woman, and its perfectly understandable why he is with her.  I also find it very interesting that Vaughn said he and Alice got back together months ago.  Am I the only person who thinks that Vaughn reunited with Alice around the same time Sydney was "reconnecting" with the skinny, bucktoothed Snowman?

            Major Mal Jiang stared impassively at the naked and battered man across from him.  Reaching into a pocket on his uniform, he pulled out a cigarette and lit it with a gold plated Zippo lighter.

            Placing the cigarette in between his thin lips, he took a deep drag.  He let out a contented sigh as the smoke wafted down his mouth and into his lungs.  After savoring the relaxing sensation, he took another deep drag, and blew the smoke outward into the bloodied man's face.

            Mal leaned forward slightly, resting his chin on the palm of his right hand.  He studied the man in front of him with interest.

            If it had not been for the way the man was slouched on his chair, it would be obvious to the casual observer that he was a tall man.  He had an athlete's body.  Tan skin over lean, taut muscles.  He was a man built to endure great physical exertion, and it showed in his resistance to his captor's interrogation methods.

            They had beaten, prodded, and poked him constantly for over a week.  His naked body was covered in ugly, purplish bruises.  From the way his left arm unconsciously hugged his chest, one could tell that he was suffering from a couple of broken ribs.  Two fingers on his right hand were broken, and the fingernails removed.

            However, it was his face that had seen the worst of his interrogator's wrath.  His nose was broken and covered in dried blood.  His left eye was a dark shade of black and completely swollen shut.  His right eye was swollen as well, but still open enough so that he could see out of it.  Several bleeding cuts covered his face, and blood matted his hair to his forehead from a deep gash along his hairline.

            He was a mess, but Mal thought with some admiration, he had refused to talk.  Mal was finally coming to grips with the fact that the man might never tell him what he needed to know.  He was going to try one more time.  If he came up empty again, there would be no more need for the prisoner.

            Mal detested killing.  It was counterproductive and uncivilized.  But, as Mal unfortunately knew all too well, it was sometimes necessary.  If the man did not tell Mal where the information that he had stolen was, Mal would have no choice but to kill the man.  He was simply too much of a danger if kept alive.  The chance that he might tell someone what he knew was too high to ignore.

            Signaling to one of the two men behind him, Mal waited for the man in front of him to be revived.  After one of his assistants injected the prisoner with a syringe, Mal leaned back and waited.  He didn't have to wait long.

            With a loud moan of pain, the prisoner slowly came to awareness.  Tentatively blinking his good eye, the man looked at the sight in front of him and let out another groan; this time a groan of annoyance.  The man spoke in a raspy voice, "You again?  How many times are we going to go through this?"

            Mal sighed, showing off his own annoyance and frustration.  Mal spoke in heavily accented English.  "Only one more time I assure you.  I'm afraid my superiors have become very disappointed with your lack of cooperation.  They have given me one more opportunity to extract the information we seek from you."

            Mal paused to take another drag from his cigarette.  He continued, "Unfortunately for you Mr. Johannesburg, if you do not tell me what you know, I'm afraid your usefulness will no longer be enough to keep you alive."

            Martin Johannesburg let out a growl of anger and shouted in desperate exasperation.  "For the last time, I don't know what you're talking about.  I am not a spy and I don't have any information, stolen or otherwise.  I am just a fucking businessman!"

            Mal made a clicking sound with his tongue, showing his disapproval.  "Now, now, now Mr. Johannesburg, we both know that's not true.  Normal American businessmen do not carry multiple passports, all containing different names I might add.  Normal businessmen are not disavowed by the American embassy.  And normal businessmen do not carry around a 9mm handgun in their pocket."

            Martin squeezed his left hand tightly, trying to fight down the panic that threatened to overwhelm him.  He knew that his story was full of holes, as the Chinese major sitting in front of him had just proven, but it was the only thing that he had to hold onto.

            In a tone full of resignation and despair, Martin said quietly, "I explained to you earlier why I had those things.  My trip was sudden.  I did not have time to alert the embassy that I would be traveling, and the gun is for my personal protection.  I know that it is not legal, but I heard so many stories about tourists getting mugged that I didn't want to leave myself unprotected."

            Martin consciously left out the passports.  He had no rational explanation for them.  How they managed to find the passports is a mystery to him.  He had carefully hidden them in his hotel room, but I guess I didn't hide them well enough.  He had seriously underestimated the Chinese intelligence services.  Who knew they would be so thorough?

            It was his own fault he was in the mess he was in.  He had been on so many missions, that he had grown complacent.  He had dropped his guard and gotten sloppy.  He fell into the trap that he had sworn he would never allow himself to fall victim to.  He had been so successful, on so many different missions, that he had allowed himself to think himself invincible.

            Now he was broken and battered, sitting on a cold metal chair in a dark and dank room.  And he was only moments away from death.  He may have underestimated the Chinese's thoroughness, but he knew better than to underestimate their ruthlessness as well.

            Despite the fact that he was about to die, he was not even tempted to tell them what they wanted to know.  If he was perfectly honest with himself, he could say he was actually invigorated by the knowledge of his impending death.  For the first time since his capture, he was feeling adrenaline saturate his body.  His pain was receding to the back of his mind, and he was experiencing a sense of clarity that he had not felt since the days where he still worked at Langley.

            If they wanted to kill him for the information that he possessed, he was perfectly accepting of that.  But they would not kill him without a fight.  Of that he was absolutely certain.

            Martin was brought out of his inner thoughts by the slight chuckle that escaped out of the mouth of the Chinese major.  "I must say that I admire your tenaciousness Mr. Johannesburg, no matter how foolish it is.  Your explanations are specious at best, and you have yet to give an adequate explanation as to why you have so many fake passports."

            Martin just shrugged his shoulders.  "What can I say?  Would you believe me if I told you that I had a bunch of clones running around, all with different names, and that I was just holding their passports for them?"  Martin asked with false hope.

            Again Mal laughed.  "I like you Mr. Johannesburg.  You have a very optimistic outlook on life.  If our positions were reversed, I do not think that I would take my impending death as lightly as you are."

            Giving up the pretense that he was not what they claimed him to be, Martin let out a sigh.  "Yeah, well, when you've faced death as many times as I have, it tends to lose its bite.  I stopped fearing death a long time ago."

            Mal frowned at Martin's response.  "This I know.  That is the problem with interrogating people like you Mr. Johannesburg.  Those that do not fear death are far more difficult to break than those that do."

            "I'd say I'm sorry that I'm causing you so much trouble, but seeing how you're about to kill me, I just can't find it in me."

            Mal took one last drag of his cigarette before dropping it down to the floor and grinding it out with his boot.  Standing up, Mal drew himself to his full height and looked into Martin's eye.  "I will ask you one more time Mr. Johannesburg to tell me where you put the computer disk."

            Martin simply responded with, "What computer disk?"

            Mal sighed and turned his back on Martin.  Walking to the back of the room where the exit lay, he spoke to the two guards who were standing in front of the door.  "Kill him," he ordered.

            As Mal walked through the doorway and into the hall leading away from the interrogation room, he lit another cigarette.  It was his last one, he noticed with some apprehension.  He would have to make a stop over in his office before reporting to his superiors to pick up another pack.

            He brought his lighter up to the cigarette in his mouth, and paused slightly when he heard the angry retort of a single gunshot reverberating down the hall.  Frowning slightly at the knowledge that Mr. Johannesburg was dead, he quickly shook himself of his thoughts and lit his cigarette.

To be continued…………………….

P.S.      I know most of you are probably wondering what the hell all this had to do with Vaughn, and all I can say is that you have to wait and see.  As the story moves farther along, so does Vaughn's involvement in everything.  In this story, I will try to involve everyone, and I mean everyone, but will more than likely focus on the big three: Jack, Sydney, and Vaughn, and whatever original characters I pull out of my ass.  Further chapters will be much longer than this.  I just wanted to set the tone for the rest of the story.


	2. Chapter 2

**Title:** Angel Dark

**Author:** DOKChairman

**Time:** No particular time frame.  Assume everything that has happened up to Counteragent is fair game.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Alias.  If I did, Dixon would actually appear in an episode this season, Marshall would be in practically every scene (that guy cracks me up so much), Sydney and Vaughn would at the very least admit that they have feelings for each other, and most importantly of all, Sydney would wear even less clothes than she usually does.  Unfortunately for my bank account, J.J. Abrams, Bad Robot Productions, and ABC own Alias.  I own nothing so don't sue me.

**Author's Note:** This story is definitely AU.  It branches off what happened in Counteragent and goes off into its own little world.

**Author's Note:** I wanted to apologize for the briefness of the last chapter.  Usually I go much more into detail than I did, but I wrote that chapter in a little over an hour and I just had to post it.  I would have written more, but I was already procrastinating too much on a 10-page history paper I had to write on American Imperialism in pre-World War I world history.  As you might be able to imagine, a very fun topic.  Who knew that one of the reasons for the Spanish-American War was that America was afraid that it was going to run out of sugar?  The things you learn in college.

**Author's Note:** I almost forgot to write this.  Thanks to everyone who reviewed my story and gave me feedback.  You make this all worthwhile.  Anyways, here is the next chapter.  Tell me what you think.  Don't be afraid to be critical.

            "…and you haven't heard a single word I've said have you?"  Sydney Bristow asked the man standing next to her with a humorous smirk on her face.  It was a rare occasion indeed when her handler was not in complete control of his faculties.

            Michael Vaughn shook his head abruptly, as if trying to shake some awareness into his mind, and gave Sydney an embarrassed smile.  Blushing slightly, he apologized.  "I'm sorry Syd, I was kind of out of it there for a few seconds.  You were saying?"

            Sydney smiled in understanding.  She understood perfectly what Vaughn was saying.  She had learned early on that sometimes it was good to just let your mind wander.  Of course, the fact that it was her handler that was experiencing feelings of distraction piqued her curiosity immensely.  Vaughn was always so in control of himself, Sydney definitely wanted to know what could make him zone out in the middle of a debriefing.

            "I was just saying that I think this mission you guys are thinking of sending me on could wait for a while.  With Sark joining the Alliance, I think that it might be a good idea for me to lay low for a while.  I mean we still don't know everything Sark told Sloane, so I don't know if it's best for me to be leaving all of a sudden."

            Vaughn sighed.  "I understand where you're coming from Sydney, and normally I would never agree to send you on a mission where you might draw more unwanted attention than usual, but planting this bug could go a long way in taking down SD-6."

            Sydney nodded her head, sending her hair bouncing along her shoulders.  "I'm not saying I won't do it, I just wanted to point out the situation that's all."

            Speaking more sharply than he intended, Vaughn responded, "I am completely aware of the situation Sydney.  I don't need you to point out something I already know.  It is my job after all."

            Vaughn inwardly cringed when he saw the hurt in Sydney's eyes.  He was about to apologize for what he had said, when the hurt was replaced with concern and determination.

            Crossing her arms across her chest, Sydney bored into Vaughn with a piercing gaze.  She tried to keep her voice as professional as possible, but she couldn't stop her concern from leaking out.  Vaughn was acting totally un-Vaughn like and she wanted to know why.

            If she hadn't been so close to Vaughn, she might have accepted the fact that a person was more than entitled to having a bad day.  Especially considering the kind of work they were in.  Unfortunately, her concern for Vaughn overrode her common sense that was telling her to butt out and leave the man alone.  

            It was obvious from the way he looked, that the previous night had not been kind to him.  He was slouching slightly, his hair was not quite as in place as usual, his face seemed drawn and slightly pale, and his eyes had dark rings under them.  When Sydney had first seen Vaughn that morning, she had worried that maybe he was regressing and that the virus was once again attacking his body.  But when Vaughn showed no sign at being sick, and when he had immediately began discussing her latest mission, she had passed his hellish look off as simply having a bad night's sleep.

            Now she wasn't so sure.  If Sydney didn't know better, she would have assumed that Vaughn was hung over.  But his symptoms didn't seem to quite match that prognosis and so she searched for another reason why he was acting so distracted.  A small part of her briefly snickered that maybe he looked like he had been up all night was because he had.  With Alice that is.  That thought made her feel very uncomfortable and so she quickly pushed it to the back of her mind.  She never wanted to acknowledge that woman with Vaughn unless she absolutely had too.  She preferred to be blissfully unaware of Vaughn's relationship status.

            Quickly deciding that the best way to finding out what was wrong with Vaughn was to ask him, she asked softly, "What's wrong Vaughn?"

            Vaughn sighed deeply and ran a hand through his unkempt hair.  He debated with himself on whether or not he should tell her what she obviously wanted to know.  Normally he would have been warmed by the fact that Sydney cared for him and wanted to know what was going on with him, but the nightmare that he had suffered through last night had to do with a part of his past that he would have preferred to keep secret.

            However, one look at the determination on Sydney's face and his resolve quickly melted.  He had folded, like he always did.  With more than a little disgust he thought to himself, God, you are so whipped.

            Meeting Sydney's concerned gaze, he started.  "I just had a really bad nightmare last night.  That's all."

            Feeling relief at knowing that Alice had not been the cause of Vaughn's distracted behavior, Sydney tried to be the concerned friend.  "What happened?  Do you remember?"

            Vaughn shook his head.  He didn't remember much, just vague images and sounds, but he definitely remembered what the nightmare had centered on.  Deciding to tell Sydney only half the truth, he responded, "I don't really remember much.  I just remember feeling really bad.  It kept me up all night."

            Sydney tentatively reached out with her hand and placed it on Vaughn's arm.  Despite the fact that they had already hugged twice in the middle of the Joint Task Force headquarters, she was still wary of appearing to close to Vaughn.  Those situations had involved extenuating circumstances, and in her mind were perfectly understandable.  For some reason, touching Vaughn simply because he had had a bad dream, didn't seem as okay as before.

            Vaughn looked down at Sydney's hand and flashed her a warm smile.  It was amazing what the woman in front of him could do to his moods.  One touch was all it took in turning him from a tired, distracted, and slightly fearful man, to happy and refreshed.  Not for the first time he belatedly realized how dependent he was on Sydney.

            Sydney was about to offer more words of comfort when she noticed out of the corner of her eye, her father and Assistant Director Kendall walking towards them.  Regretfully removing her hand from Vaughn's arm, she nodded her head towards her father.  Vaughn stopped staring into her eyes to look at the two men coming towards them.

            The minute Vaughn saw Jack Bristow's face, he immediately knew that Jack had seen Sydney touch his arm.  Despite the fact that Jack seemed to respect Vaughn, at least to a certain degree, Vaughn knew that Jack still disapproved of their relationship.  He had been more than a little surprised at seeing Jack sitting at his bedside when he had awoken from his coma.  He hadn't thought Jack cared enough about him to do that.

            Although, if Vaughn wanted to really think about the situation, he knew that Jack's concern for his well being stemmed more from his concern for Sydney.  Vaughn suspected that as long as Sydney depended on him, then Jack would watch out for him.  However, Vaughn knew that Jack would not hesitate to kill him if it meant he could save Sydney from harm.

            That was the one character trait of Jack that Vaughn couldn't help to admire.  Jack Bristow had many flaws, but it was his total devotion to his daughter that more than made up for his seemingly amoral outlook on life.  It was a trait that both he and Jack shared in spades.

            Jack gave Vaughn a small frown when he got close enough, and Vaughn unconsciously took a step away from Sydney.  Sydney noticed Vaughn's move and frowned herself.  She had seen the look pass between her father and Vaughn, and in an act of defiance, took a step towards Vaughn.  Her father merely frowned.

            Kendall, oblivious to the interplay between his three agents, addressed Sydney.  "I assume that Agent Vaughn has briefed you on your mission particulars?"

            Sydney tore her focus away from her father and Vaughn and faced Kendall.  In a clipped tone she said, "Yes, Agent Vaughn explained everything to me.  I have reservations about this mission though.  As I was telling Agent Vaughn, I don't think it would be such a good idea for me to leave unexpectedly right now."

            Kendall's nose scrunched slightly and he gave Sydney a pensive look.  "I'm sure I don't have to remind you of the importance of this mission."

            Sydney glared slightly at Kendall.  "I know."

            Vaughn was tempted to interject on Sydney's behalf.  The more he thought about it, the more he thought that maybe Sydney had a point.  He certainly didn't want her risking herself more than usual.  He was about to say something when he felt a vibrating sensation against his chest.

            In surprise, he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out his secure cell phone.  That was strange.  He had only given out his cell number to three people: his mother, Alice, and Sydney.  Both Alice and his mother knew to never call him on his cell unless it was an absolute emergency, and Sydney was standing right in front of him.

            He looked up from his cell phone to notice that everyone else was staring at him.  A look of disapproval was on both Jack's and Kendall's face, and Vaughn flushed in embarrassment.  Excusing himself, he moved off into a relatively secluded part of the operations room.

            Worrying that something may have happened to his mother or to Alice, he hurriedly answered the call.  "This is Vaughn."  When Vaughn got no response, he said "Hello?"

            Again getting no response, Vaughn was about to hang up.  It was probably just a wrong number, he reasoned.  Before he could end the call, he heard a deep and obviously modified voice.  "Agent Vaughn, I have a message for you."

            The voice paused and Vaughn tensed up.  "The flying Dutchman's wings have been clipped.  If you want more information, be at the payphone on the corner of Howe and East Street in exactly 30 minutes."  The voice then hung up before Vaughn could respond.

            The corner of Howe and East Street was on the other side of town.  Vaughn looked down at his watch and noticed that it was almost close to the noon rush.  Damn!  He would never make it across L.A. in the middle of rush hour in only half an hour.

            Sydney meanwhile, was only paying partial attention to the topic that her father and Kendall were discussing.  They were talking about her mission, stuff she had already been over.  She was much more interested in Vaughn.

            She had seen him answer the phone rather impatiently.  She smiled inwardly at the blush that had crossed Vaughn's cheeks at being embarrassed by having his phone go off in the middle of a meeting.  He was always so proper.  Only Vaughn could become embarrassed by having his cell phone go off.  It was actually kind of cute, in a really anal kind of way.

            Her smile quickly turned into concern when she had seen his face pale considerably.  Whatever he had just heard had obviously been something that he wasn't expecting.  He was staring at the phone in disbelief, when he suddenly seemed to change gears from surprise to action.  She saw him glancing at his watch.  He then turned to look at Sydney anxiously, as if he wanted to say something to her.

            She was about to excuse herself and go and ask what was wrong, when Vaughn suddenly and unexpectedly took off down the hall.  Sydney was so shocked that she could only stare at Vaughn's rapidly fading back.

            With a confused look on her face, she looked at her father and noticed that both her father and Kendall were staring at Vaughn in surprise as well.  Kendall voiced the thoughts of everyone when he said, "What the hell?  Where is Agent Vaughn going?"

            Sydney had thought it was a rhetorical question, but the way Kendall was looking at her, it seemed like he expected her to know.  Like she knew.  She was just as surprised as he was.

            Sydney shrugged her shoulders.  "I don't know.  Dad?"

            Jack was still staring at the hall when he answered, "I don't know Sydney.  I am just as in the dark as you are."

            "I'm going to find out."  Sydney then followed Vaughn's lead and took off down the hall.  Vaughn already had a huge head start on her, so she would have to hurry if she wanted to catch up with him before he did whatever he was doing.

            Kendall cried out indignantly, "Agent Bristow!  Where do you think you're going?"  But Sydney was too far away to answer.

            Kendall then turned to Jack and fixed him with a glare.  "You're daughter is out of control.  First that incident with the vaccine and now this.  I think you need to talk some sense into her."

            When Jack responded there was steel in his voice, "My daughter is not out of control, and I supported her actions in Pulanski completely.  You should know by now that my daughter will do whatever she wants regardless of what you or anyone else tells her.  It would be better for all of us if we just stay out of her way."

            Jack then spun on his heel and stalked off.

            When Sydney had said to Vaughn that he would be doing wind sprints in only a few days, she had no idea how right she was.  At the moment, Vaughn was attempting to break all land speed records as he rushed to his car. 

            Fishing his keys out of his pocket, he quickly unlocked the driver's door and jumped in.  He put the keys in the ignition and threw the car in reverse.  Tires screeching, Vaughn tore out of the Joint Task Force parking lot.  Reaching into his glove compartment, he pulled out his portable siren and placed it on the dash of the car.  

He had never thought he would ever have any need for the siren, but now he was thanking whatever god was out there that he had put it in his car.  Weiss had always made fun of him for carrying it around with him, but for once he was glad he was as, Weiss liked to point out, totally anal.  The siren would be the only chance he had to make it to the payphone in time.  And he had to make it in time.  He had to know if the phone call that he had just gotten was true.

Hearing the name Flying Dutchman had brought him back to a time that he would like nothing better than to forget.  It had been four years since he had had anything to do with Project Sally.  He had thought that anything associated with that name was long buried.  Now he wasn't so sure.

Weaving through traffic, Vaughn thought back to the last time he had seen the man known as the Flying Dutchman.  Vaughn knew the man known as the Flying Dutchman by his real name, Kyle Prescott.  To the rest of the world, he was known as Martin Johannesburg.

He hadn't seen Kyle since his last days at working in the operations branch at Langley.  It had been his understanding that Kyle, like the rest of the agents involved in Project Sally, were no longer on active status.  What had happened that would lead to Kyle being killed was something Vaughn needed to find out.

Kyle had been a friend, almost like a brother to him in some ways, and if he had been killed, Vaughn needed to find out why.  Plus, there was more than a little self-interest involved as well.  If something had happened to Kyle, then there was the chance that something could happen to him as well.

Vaughn glanced at the digital clock in his car and noticed that he only had six minutes left to reach the payphone.  Pressing his foot even farther down on the gas petal, his car sped off down the L.A. streets.

To be continued……………

P.S.      I don't know if the streets I named really exist in Los Angeles, and honestly I don't really care.  I also don't know if I spelled the name of that Russian base correctly.  All I know is that it started with a p and ended with an i.


	3. Chapter 3

**Title:** Angel Dark

**Author:** DOKChairman

**Time:** No particular time frame.  Assume everything that has happened up to Counteragent is fair game.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Alias.  If I did, Dixon would actually appear in an episode this season, Marshall would be in practically every scene (that guy cracks me up so much), Sydney and Vaughn would at the very least admit that they have feelings for each other, and most importantly of all, Sydney would wear even less clothes than she usually does.  Unfortunately for my bank account, J.J. Abrams, Bad Robot Productions, and ABC own Alias.  I own nothing so don't sue me.

**Pairing:** This will be a Sydney/Vaughn piece.  As if there's anything else.

**Author's Note:** This story is definitely AU.  It branches off what happened in Counteragent and goes off into its own little world.

**Author's Note:** This is just a quick little post before Thanksgiving break.  The next part will be much longer; I just wanted to give you one more chapter to tide you over.

            The phone was already ringing when Vaughn reached his destination.  Panting slightly, more from excitement and apprehension than physical exertion, Vaughn picked up the phone.  "Hello?"

            The same monochrome voice that he had heard over his cell phone responded.  "Go to the bus stop across the street.  Underneath the second bench is a package.  All the information you need is in that package.  Good bye Agent Vaughn."

            Vaughn couldn't let the person hang up without getting more information.  "Wait!  Who are you?  How do you know who I am?  Where did you get this information?"  The questions came pouring out of Vaughn's mouth.  He knew he sounded desperate but he didn't care.

            There was a brief pause before the voice returned.  "All the information you need is in the package.  I will contact you again when the situation warrants it."  The voice then hung up and Vaughn could only stare at the phone.  In frustration he slammed the phone down.

            Vaughn turned around to check the street.  Seeing that it was temporarily empty, he ran across to the other side.  His jacket was flapping in the wind as he ran.

            Vaughn came to an abrupt halt in front of the second bench at the bus stop.  He dropped to his knees next to the bench and began rubbing his hand along the underside of the bench.  Halfway along the seat he found something taped to the wood.  Grabbing the package in a firm grip, he ripped it from the bench and brought it out so that he could look at.

            It was a brown package, similar to the kind of package that shipping companies would transport stuff in.  On the front of the package was written Vaughn's name in bold, black writing.

            Vaughn got off his knees, checked the street again, and ran back across to his parked car.  He wanted to open the package in the relative safety of his car.  Climbing into his seat, he didn't waste anytime in ripping open the package.

            The contents of the package came spilling out into his hand.  Only one object landed on Vaughn's open hand.  It was a computer disk.

            Sydney walked back into the Joint Task Force operations room with a dejected look on her face.  She had not been fast enough.  She had just caught up to Vaughn when he had jumped into his car and sped out of the parking structure.  He had obviously not heard her attempts to get his attention.

            She noticed her father waiting for her and walked up to him.  She saw the questioning look on his face and she shook her head.  She saw her father frown in response. 

            When she got close enough, he grabbed hold of her arm and pulled her away from the prying eyes of the operations room.  It seemed that she wasn't the only one who had seen Vaughn's sudden departure.

            When they were as alone as they could get, she told her father, "I was too late.  He was gone before I could stop him."

            Jack asked, "Do you have any idea why?"

            Sydney glared at her father.  "Why does everyone think that I know?"

            Jack just ignored Sydney's question.  "I seriously doubt that its anything we should worry about.  It is more than likely a personal matter.  I'm sure Vaughn will inform us if it pertains to anything relevant."

            Sydney mumbled quietly to herself, "It's relevant to me no matter what."

            Fortunately, Jack didn't seem to hear her.  "What was that?"

            Sydney gave Jack an innocent smile, "Nothing dad."

            Jack saw how worried Sydney was and tried to comfort her.  Plus, he didn't want her doing something stupid like trying to look for Vaughn.  He knew how on edge she was around him ever since Vaughn had almost died.  "Look, give it an hour or two.  If he still hasn't come back by then, then I'll ask around and see what I can find out.  Okay?"

            Sydney gave Jack one of her dimpled smiles.  "Thanks dad.  I'd appreciate that."

            Jack nodded his head.  "While your waiting, you should go over your mission again."

            Sydney sighed but reluctantly agreed.  For the next two hours, she was going to try as hard as she could not to think about Vaughn, and instead focus on her mission.

            Vaughn parked his car in his spot in the Joint Task Force parking structure, and stepped out.  He locked his car and set off at a brisk pace towards the operations room.  

            He needed access to one of the task force's computers.  He just knew that whatever was on the disk that he had in his pocket was important.  He didn't dare try to access it on his personal computer at home.  The operations room was the only place secure enough.

            He was walking with such a single-minded purpose that he didn't even notice that he had walked right past a very surprised Sydney.  Sydney yelled out for him to stop, but Vaughn just kept walking.

            Overcoming her surprise at first seeing Vaughn and then having him completely ignore her, something she didn't even think he was capable of, Sydney started following Vaughn.  Finally catching up to him, she grabbed hold of his arm and pulled him to a stop.

            Vaughn looked at Sydney in surprise, as if he had just noticed her for the first time.  "Sydney!"  He then looked down at Sydney's hold on his arm and frowned in confusion.  "What are you doing Sydney?"

            Sydney angrily replied, "What am I doing?  I should be asking you that.  First, you run out of here like a crazy person and then you ignore me when I tried to talk to you.  What the hell is going on Vaughn?"

            Vaughn gently pried Sydney's hand off his arm and said quietly, "It's private Syd.  Nothing for you to worry about."

            Sydney calmed herself.  "You can tell me Vaughn.  We have that kind of relationship, right?  Where we can tell each other everything."  Sydney said the last part so worriedly that Vaughn couldn't help but smile.

            In the same quiet tone he used before he reassured Sydney, "Yeah Syd, we do.  It's not that I don't trust you, it's just that this is something I kind of have to do on my own."

            "Oh.  I understand."

            Vaughn grinned at her.  "It's sweet that you're worried, but really, there's nothing to be concerned about.  I just need to use one of the secure computers."

            "Ok.  I'll be right out here if you want to talk or anything."  Sydney said with a little smile on her face.

            Vaughn just smiled back and nodded his head.  When Sydney turned around and started to walk away, the smile quickly left Vaughn's face.  He regained his focus on his mission and strode into the tech room.  With authority, he spoke to the tech guy, "I need a computer."

            Steve Johnson lifted his head up from the latest gadget he was working on and said confusedly, "There are lots of computers outside Agent Vaughn.  Use one of them."

            Vaughn shook his head.  "No.  I need a computer.  A _private_ computer."

            Realization dawned on Johnson's face and he motioned Vaughn closer.  "Ahhh, I see."  He pushed away from his desk, his chair sliding him across to another desk where a computer sat.  Pressing a few buttons on the keyboard, the computer flashed to life.

            "Here you go Agent Vaughn.  It should be secure enough for whatever purpose you need."

            "Thanks Steve."  Vaughn thanked the tech guy, and then said; "Now I need you to leave the room."  Vaughn ordered.

            Johnson looked at Vaughn strangely before standing up and off of his chair.  "No problem.  I could use a break."

            Vaughn waited until Johnson had left the room before reaching inside his suit pocket and pulling out the computer CD-ROM.  Placing the disk in the computer, he waited for the computer to boot it up.

            An icon appeared on the computer for the new disk, and Vaughn took a deep breath before clicking on it.  He was not prepared for what he saw.

            As soon as he clicked on the file, schematics, photographs, and equations started appearing on the screen.  The images flew by so fast that Vaughn had little time to study them closely, but he did recognize what he was seeing.

            It was Project Sally.  And if the information that he was currently looking at was indicating what he thought it was, then Project Sally had become active once again.  He had to see Devlin, immediately.  If Project Sally was active, then Devlin had some serious explaining to do.

            Sydney not so discreetly glanced over at the tech room for the fourth time in the last minute.  Whatever Vaughn was doing in there, he had thought it secret enough to kick Steve Johnson out of his own office.  Sydney was unbelievably curious.  She was dying to know what was going on.

            Accepting the fact that she would not be able to work until her curiosity was satisfied, she left her desk and walked toward the tech room.  She noticed that Johnson was sitting in a chair right outside his office, drinking a cup of coffee.  Fortunately, the table that happened to hold the office coffee maker also happened to be right next to the tech room.

            Sydney walked up to the table and poured herself a cup of coffee.  As she was doing so, she gave a friendly smile to Johnson, who smiled back.  In a conversational tone she said, "They finally letting you out of your cage huh?"

            Johnson leaned back in his chair, causing the two front legs to leave the ground, and flashed Sydney a wide smile.  "Yep.  Agent Vaughn needed to use one of my computers, so I decided to take a break for once."

            Sydney tried not to look too interested as she said, "Oh?  Agent Vaughn?"

            Johnson nodded his head and weaved a hand through his wild hair.  "Yeah.  Said he needed a private computer.  I just assumed that it was for your latest mission."

            Sydney nodded her head absentmindedly.  "So you don't know what he's doing?"

            Johnson's smile faltered a little.  "Nope, sorry."

            Sydney forced a smile on her face.  "That's all right.  I just figured that you would want to know what someone was doing with your stuff."

            Johnson shrugged his shoulders.  "If they don't want me to know, then I don't want to know.  It's better for everyone that way.  Besides, when an agent like Vaughn tells me he needs to have some privacy, I do what the man says."

            That last part threw Sydney for a loop.  She was about to ask Johnson what he meant, when the door to the tech room suddenly opened.  Sydney actually jumped in surprise and blushed when Vaughn saw her standing outside the door.  She felt like she had just been caught with her hand in the cookie jar.  Vaughn frowned in disapproval at her.

            Vaughn's voice contained a hint of anger when he spoke to Sydney.  "Hey Syd.  Getting a cup of coffee I see?"

            Sydney acted properly chastised for getting caught.  She wasn't the least bit surprised that Vaughn had picked up on what she was trying to do.  "I was feeling kind of tired so I decided to get a pick me up," Sydney said pathetically.  It was a week excuse and she knew it.

            Vaughn just snorted at her and started walking away.  Not really needing the coffee, Sydney put her cup back on the table and followed Vaughn.  

            "Vaughn!  Wait!"

            Vaughn didn't stop, but he did slow down and Sydney was able to catch up enough to match him stride for stride.  Sydney immediately started talking, "Alright, you caught me.  I was trying to find out what you were doing, but you won't tell me anything.  What else was I supposed to do?  I have all these spy skills.  I figured I'd put them to good use for once."

            Vaughn sighed.  "I told you it was private Syd."

            "I know, and I'm sorry for putting my nose in places where it doesn't belong, but your important to me and I want to know what's going on with you.  It hurts that you won't tell me."

            Vaughn stopped walking and looked Sydney in the eyes.  "I want to tell you Syd, but I can't."  Vaughn took a deep breath before adding, "It's classified."

            Sydney frowned deeply.  "Classified?  You said it was a private matter."

            "It is Syd.  It's both.  That's why I can't tell you anything."

            Vaughn started walking again.  Sydney once again started following him.  She noticed that they were going to the parking structure.  "Soooo, where are we going?"

            Vaughn looked over at Sydney.  "I'm going to see Devlin.  You, on the other hand, are going to get ready for your mission."

            Agent and Handler grew silent as they walked the rest of the way to Vaughn's car.  Opening the driver's door, Vaughn turned to Sydney and suddenly grew serious.  "In case I don't see you again before you leave, I just wanted to tell you good luck and to come back safe."

            Sydney flashed Vaughn one of her heart melting smiles.  "Don't worry, I fully intend to come back in one piece.  I have something to look forward too."

            Vaughn got in his car and looked up at Sydney.  "Oh yeah, what's that?"

            Sydney smiled craftily.  "I intend to make it my mission to find out what's going on with you.  I just thought I'd give you fair warning."  Sydney then closed the door before Vaughn could respond and walked away.

To be continued……………….

P.S.      Once again, thanks to everyone for the feedback.  I have a quick question that I would like everyone to answer.  Should I space my updates apart more?  I feel like my story isn't having quite the impact I would like it to have by posting so frequently.  Opinion/ideas/thoughts would be appreciated.  Thank you.       


	4. Chapter 4

Title: Angel Dark

Author: DOKChairman

Time: No particular time frame. Assume everything that has happened up to Counteragent is fair game.

Disclaimer: I do not own Alias. If I did, Dixon would actually appear in an episode this season, Marshall would be in practically every scene (that guy cracks me up so much), Sydney and Vaughn would at the very least admit that they have feelings for each other, and most importantly of all, Sydney would wear even less clothes than she usually does. Unfortunately for my bank account, J.J. Abrams, Bad Robot Productions, and ABC own Alias. I own nothing so don't sue me.

Pairing: This will be a Sydney/Vaughn piece. As if there's anything else.

Author's Note: I want to begin by apologizing to everyone for taking so long to update. Unfortunately, I fell victim to that vicious predator called real life, and I have been unable to write until now. With Thanksgiving break, finals quickly approaching, and the fact that I just got a new computer, life has become extremely hectic. As you can obviously see however, that has changed somewhat.

Author's Note: I received over 15 reviews for my last chapter, so just saying thank you to all you wonderful people out there seems so inadequate, but I can't think of anything else to say: so thank you very much. Your reactions motivate me to write more, so keep them coming. Thank you again.

Author's Note: On a side note, I feel like sharing with you all the fact that I got an A on my history paper I told you about earlier. Yay me! Anyways, you aren't here to read about me, so here's the story.

  
  
  


Vaughn's leg involuntarily twitched up and down as he sat in pensive apprehension outside of Devlin's office. He was full of so much pent up frustration, apprehension, and good old fashioned nerves, that he was finding it difficult to keep himself still. 

Usually only something involving Sydney could get him so worked up, but anyone who had ever worked on Project Sally knew just how passionate he could get at times. When there was something that concerned him, he could be as tenacious, emotional, and ruthless as the next guy. He just tended not to show it. 

Finally, giving up on the pointlessness of sitting down, Vaughn suddenly leapt to his feet and began pacing. Devlin's secretary, a rather young, but severe looking brunette with wire rim glasses, looked up at Vaughn's sudden motion and gave him a glare of annoyance.

"Must you do that Agent Vaughn? Perhaps you could sit down?" The secretary tried to keep her voice as pleasant and even as possible, but it was obvious to Vaughn that the woman did not appreciate what he was doing. He admitted to himself that his pacing was probably distracting, pacing was in general distracting, but since it was making him feel better, he didn't really feel like stopping.

Vaughn just ignored her and continued pacing up and down the floor of Devlin's anteroom. When he heard the sound of typing, he assumed the secretary had returned to her work, and focused on his thoughts.

He knew he had to tread carefully. Despite his shock and anger at discovering that Project Sally was more than likely active again, one did not outright accuse a person of Devlin's stature of wrongdoing, no matter how damning the evidence.

Vaughn would show Devlin the disk, ask him about what he knew, and if he determined that Project Sally was active again, he would demand to be put on the case immediately. Project Sally had been his baby, and the only other person that knew the project as intimately as he did, was apparently dead.

Vaughn suddenly heard the typing stop and looked up to see the secretary staring at him. Blushing slightly, Vaughn smiled sheepishly at the woman and stopped his pacing motion.

"I'm sorry. I don't mean to distract you from your work, but this waiting is driving me crazy. How much longer until Director Devlin's meeting is over." Vaughn tried to appease the secretary with his words.

Whether it was his charm, or simply the fact that the woman was more easygoing than she appeared, her face softened. Her mouth slipped out of its seemingly permanent frown and gave Vaughn an understanding smile. "Unfortunately Agent Vaughn, I don't know when Director Devlin's meeting will be over. Department evaluations always go long. It could be hours before he is free."

Vaughn sputtered in disbelief, "Hours? I can't wait that long. I need to see Devlin now."

The frown appeared back on the secretary's face. "I'm sorry Agent Vaughn, but there is nothing I can do. You can leave me a message, and I will pass it on later, but there is no way you can see Director Devlin at this time."

Vaughn walked up to her desk and looked down at her sitting form. "I need to speak with Devlin now. I don't care what you have to do to get him up here, but do it. This is a matter of national security, and I don't think Devlin would like being kept out of the loop."

The young woman sighed and reached to grab her phone. Pausing with her hand on the phone, she looked up at Vaughn's towering form and said, "Are you willing to take full responsibility for interrupting Director Devlin's meeting? I will not be held responsible for your actions."

Sudden realization dawned in Vaughn's head. He understood now why the secretary was acting as belligerently as she was. She was afraid of taking the heat. She wanted to protect her own ass.

"Don't worry. I'll make sure that you won't get in trouble." Vaughn tried to be as reassuring as possible.

His answer appeared to work because the woman picker up her phone and she quickly dialed a number.

A few seconds passed and then the woman spoke up. "I'm sorry to disturb you sir, but there is an Agent Vaughn demanding to see you as soon as possible." There was a pause. "Yes sir. I explained to him that now was not a good time, but he is very adamant about seeing you." Another pause. "He says it is an emergency regarding national security."

The young woman placed her palm over the bottom of the phone and looked at Vaughn. "He wants to know what is so important."

Vaughn racked his brain for a way of telling Devlin what he needed to know without giving anything away to his secretary. Finally he had it. "Tell him that I have recently leaned that my long lost sister Sally isn't as lost as I thought she was."

The secretary looked at Vaughn in confusion, but then shrugged her shoulders in acceptance and relayed Vaughn's message. Devlin's secretary listened for a long time without saying anything, before replying, "Yes sir. I'll let him know." She then hung up.

With surprise apparent on her face, she faced Vaughn. "Well, it looks like you got your meeting Agent Vauhgn. Director Devlin is on his way now."

Vaughn grinned in victory and moved back to the seats to sit down. The young secretary just went back to her typing. 

  


Sydney tried to hide her disappointment when she saw that Vaughn was nowhere in sight, but she was fairly certain her father had seen her reaction. The scowl on his face was a dead giveaway, although, Sydney thought ruefully, when was a scowl not on Jack Bristow's face?

Either way, it didn't matter. Her father disapproved of the relationship, if it could even be called that, between her and Vaughn. That much was obvious to anyone who knew her father. But to his credit, he had yet to blatantly interfere with either of them, at least as far as she knew.

Sydney shifted her eyes from her father to Assistant Director Kendall, who was going over all the last minute additions/changes to her mission. She had been hoping that Vaughn would have been back from his meeting with Devlin to see her off, but unfortunately for her, that was not the case. 

Despite how she felt about her handler, there was something to be said for all the personal touches he added to his briefings. Kendall was just so...bland and sterile. That conjured up a very unpleasant mental image, and a shiver ran down Sydney's spine.

In rare fatherly concern, Jack asked if she was alright. Sydney inwardly cringed, but outwardly smiled and assured her father that she was perfectly alright. She was just a little cold, was all. Jack accepted what she said and all three continued on. At least Kendall and her father did. Sydney's thoughts were entirely focused on her wayward handler.

  


Vaughn wasted very little time in starting as soon as Devlin and himself stepped into Devlin's office. As Devlin was moving to sit at his desk, he started to talk. "What is this about Agent Vaughn?"

"It's about Project Sally." Vaughn said.

Devlin sighed as he sat down heavily in his chair. "I gathered that from your message Agent Vaughn, but Project Sally was ended four years ago and all files regarded it were sealed. You know you're not suppose to discuss it."

Vaughn said exasperatedly, "I know the protocol sir, but apparently, Project Sally is not as dead as we thought."

"What do you mean?"

Vaughn sat down in the chair across from Devlin's desk. "What I mean is that I have received two phone calls today that would seem to indicate otherwise. One was to inform me that Kyle Prescott was dead and the other was to tell me where I could find this." Vaughn then pulled the CD out of his jacket pocket and tossed it on the desk so that it landed right in front of Devlin.

Devlin picked up the disk and looked at it curiously, "What is this?"

Vaughn leaned forward slightly and said coldly, "That is Project Sally."

Devlin stared at the disk for a few seconds before placing it back down on his desk. Devlin let out a sigh of resignation. "How did you get this?"

"I told you. Someone called me and told me where I could find it. They said that I would be very interested about what was on it, and boy were they right." Vaughn was starting to get emotional, and before he could stop himself, he said accusingly, "Why didn't you tell me that Project Sally was active again?"

Devlin stared at Vaughn and said coldly, "It's not. And may I remind you Agent Vaughn, that I am your superior and you will not address me in your manner again."

Vaughn calmed down slightly. Devlin's denial of Project Sally being active again had surprised him. He had been so sure that that was the only reason why someone would know about it in the first place. Now that he was being told that what he thought was true, was in fact not, he didn't know what to do. Of course, there was always the chance that Devlin was lying, but Vaughn didn't think Devlin would lie about something like that. Not to him.

"If Project Sally is not active, then where the hell did this disk come from." As an afterthought he added, "Sir."

Devlin stayed quiet, contemplating whether or not he should tell Vaughn what he knew. He seemed to reach a decision. "There as been a leak."

Vaughn's surprise showed clearly on his face. "A leak? But how?"

Devlin frowned. "I don't know."

"Is that why Kyle is dead?" Vaughn asked.

Devlin hesitated slightly, "Yes and no."

Vaughn asked with frustration in his voice, "What is that supposed to mean?"

Devlin explained, "I had asked Prescott to look into the matter for me. I didn't want to bring in outside help, and you were busy trying to ruin your career with your stunt in Taipei." Devlin paused before adding, "Prescott was getting close to the source of the leak, and in his last communication, he had said that he had a computer disk that contained everything about Project Sally that had been leaked. Unfortunately until now, as far as we knew Prescott had been apprehend by the Chinese and killed before he could deliver the disk. We had been afraid that maybe the Chinese had the disk, but now it doesn't look like it."

Vaughn did not like hearing that Kyle had been killed because he had been too busy with Sydney to do his job. He was beginning to think that there might be something to everyone's claim that he was letting his relationship with Sydney affect his judgment. "But how did the Chinese catch him? Kyle is more careful than that."

"We believe that the person who is stealing the Project Sally files is also the person that tipped the Chinese off about Agent Prescott. Prescott was getting too close."

"But why did the disk come to me? It couldn't have been Kyle that sent it, because he's dead. Someone was talking to me on the other side of that phone." Vaughn wondered.

"A very good question Agent Vaughn, and one that needs to be answered immediately. It doesn't make sense that the leaker would be sending you the files, and Agent Prescott is not a viable candidate, so a new player must have emerged on the scene." Devlin responded.

Vaughn reached a decision. "I want on the case. I want to catch this person."

Devlin disagreed. "I don't think that would be a good idea Agent Vaughn. You are occupied enough with being Sydney Bristow's handler. Besides, you are too emotionally involved."

Vaughn said excitedly, "You damn right this is personal. I ran the Project Sally op for two years, and Kyle was a close friend. I want to catch the bastards who killed him."

Devlin responded as fervently as Vaughn had. "That is exactly the problem Agent Vaughn. You can't look at this situation objectively."

Vaughn felt outraged. "Objectively? There is no other way to look at it sir! They killed an agent of the CIA. They should be brought to justice and punished. Surely you can't just ignore that."

Devlin said angrily, "If you are accusing me of something Agent Vaughn, then come right out and say it. If not, then shut up and let me finish."

Vaughn shut up, but he was far from calm. Looking at Devlin, he could see his same feelings reflected in Devlin's eyes. It had been a long time since he had seen his boss get so riled up. Not since the last argument that they had had about Project Sally over four years ago. Devlin and he never did see eye to eye on the whole thing.

When Devlin saw that Vaughn had in fact shut up, he tried to calm himself. In a much more subdued tone he continued, "I had a feeling that you would want to be put on the case, but I had to try to convince you otherwise. There is something else that you must know." Devlin paused. "Kyle Prescott is not the only one of your team to have been killed."

Vaughn felt like the he had just been punched in the gut. In a shaky voice he asked, "What do you mean?"

Devlin looked at Vaughn sympathetically. He remembered how everyone on the Project Sally operations team had been like a small family. It was severely frowned upon of course, but sometimes, leeway was given to those extremely exceptional people like they had been. Besides, considering the close quarters that they had been in, it was only inevitable that they would grow closer.

"Hollister, Krugar, Prescott, and Perez are all dead. We had foolishly hoped that maybe the deaths were all a coincidence, with the exception of Prescott of course, but when Krugar was gunned down this morning outside of his house, we were forced to face the realization that someone is hunting down the members of Project Sally."

"And your just telling me this now?" Vaughn yelled.

Devlin actually looked ashamed. "We had no choice. We had to be absolutely sure that the deaths were in fact assassinations and not just highly unusual. Both Hollister and Perez died of apparently natural causes. Krugar was the only one of the four to be blatantly killed."

"What about Kirkpatrick and Greene? I hope you've warned them." Vaughn asked.

"Kirkpatrick has been warned and brought into protective custody. Unfortunately, we were unable to locate Agent Greene."

Vaughn leaned back dejectedly. His entire team was almost gone. For a time, he had been closer to them than anybody. If he had had his way, he would still have been with them, but in the aftermath of the ending of Project Sally, he had been reassigned. Despite his regret, he knew that his reassignment was for the best. If not for it, he would have never met Sydney.

Devlin began talking, "That is what my meeting was about this morning. I met with the Director and the department heads, and we discussed our course of action. The Director is as anxious to deal with this problem as you are. If you are still interested in being part of the investigation, I can probably convince the Director to let you back in."

Vaughn nodded his head enthusiastically and said, "Of course I want to be involved. I want to head the investigation. You need me. No one knows this case as well as I do."

Devlin sighed. "I'll do my best to get you assigned. However, you do realize that as long as you are working on this case, you will be unable to be Agent Bristow's handler."

Vaughn's enthusiasm died. It would not be good to be away from Sydney, but he felt like he had no choice. He owed it to the others who had died to find the person or persons responsible. Sydney would just have to accept that his reassignment was only temporary and that it was a decision that he had made willingly.

"I understand sir. I'll deal with Agent Bristow."

Devlin nodded his head. "Good. Just don't forget that this is a highly classified matter. No one outside of the original project team is to know about this. Absolutely no one. The CIA does not like airing its dirty laundry for everyone to see."

"Of course sir."

"I assume you'll want to get started immediately?" Devlin asked.

Vaughn responded as he stood up. "Yes sir. I just need to get some stuff at my apartment."

Devlin nodded his head distractedly as he started dialing a number on his phone. "I'll get started immediately on getting you the proper clearance again. We'll meet again in two hours."

Vaughn acknowledged Devlin's order and left his office. Flashing the secretary outside a somewhat smug smile, he walked down the office hallway and stepped into the elevator. Once the elevator reached the parking level, he walked out and quickly climbed into his car.

He started the car, pulled out of the parking lot, and was quickly on his way to his apartment. There were some papers there that he kept hidden there. Papers having to do with Project Sally. It was against protocol, but Vaughn did not like to be caught unawares and having proof of the things that went on in Project Sally was a great way of making sure that nobody would ever be one step ahead of him.

Surprisingly, though, his biggest worry wasn't about Project Sally, it was about Sydney. What he was going to tell her was weighing heavily on his mind. He remembered what she had told him before he left, and he knew that she was just stubborn enough to follow through with what she threatened. The last thing he needed, or wanted for that matter, was for Sydney to get involved in his mess. He did not want Sydney to know about the stuff that he had done while working on Project Sally.

He realized that ever since the revelation about his relationship with Alice, his and Sydney's relationship had been strained. The last thing he wanted was for her to find out something about him that might add even more strain. He wanted her to stay blissfully unaware. 

Vaughn sighed to himself and involuntarily looked at his rearview mirror. He scanned the road behind him quickly and was about to shift his eyes back to the front when he noticed a black Suburban speeding towards him. Vaughn was shocked; the SUV had appeared out of nowhere.

Vaughn pressed his foot down on the gas pedal and his car began to pick up speed, but it was too late. The Suburban rammed the back of Vaughn's car, and the steering wheel leapt out of Vaughn's hands. Vaughn quickly grabbed the steering wheel and pulled hard to the right. His car swerved violently and he tried to weave through the traffic.

He glanced into his mirror again and saw that the Suburban was following him. Before he knew it, his car jolted again as the Suburban hit the rear of his car again. This time Vaughn was unable to control the wheel fast enough and his car sideswiped the car next to him. The Suburban rammed his car again, and Vaughn's head slammed against the steering wheel.

Vaughn's vision temporarily blackened but he recovered fast enough to yank the steering wheel to the right again. The Suburban moved up alongside him and sideswiped his car twice. Vaughn tried to speed ahead, but the Suburban matched him. 

He looked to the side and noticed two of the windows rolling down. He soon saw two men stick guns outside the windows, and he panicked. As the men started firing, Vaughn slammed on his brakes, causing the car behind him to rear end him, but the Suburban to surge ahead.

Vaughn pressed down on the gas and turned to the left. He turned his car away from the SUV and started going down the road the opposite way. He checked his rearview mirror and saw that the Suburban was turning around to follow him, taking out two cars as it did. Vaughn stopped looking at the car following him and focused on dodging the cars coming his way.

Vaughn saw a side road that led away from the main thoroughfare and he turned to take it. He checked his rearview mirror again and saw that the Suburban was still behind him. At least, he thought belatedly, no more innocent people would get in the way. 

Vaughn pressed the gas all the way to the floor, but he just wasn't fast enough. It was a government car, and as such wasn't exactly built for high speed chases. The Suburban rammed his car at an angle, sending his car spinning. Vaughn tried to control it, but there was nothing he could do but enjoy the ride.

His car slammed full force sideways into the wall of a building. The airbag exploded outward and absorbed most of the impact of his head coming towards the steering wheel. Vaughn was amazed that he was alive, let alone relatively unscathed.

Vaughn heard tires coming to a screech and he quickly unhooked his seatbelt. He had to get out of his car, as long as he stayed he was a sitting duck. He opened his door and dived out. He quickly scurried to the other side of his car, away from the people trying to kill him, and pulled his gun out of his holster.

Grabbing the gun in both hands, Vaughn took several deep breaths, attempting to psych himself up, and looked over the rear of the car to see what the Suburban was doing. What he saw did not fill him with a lot of hope. He saw four men, all of them wearing body armor from head to toe, and all of them carrying submachine guns. The men spread out and began moving towards Vaughn.

Vaughn recognized instantly that a body shot from a handgun would do nothing but give the men a slight bruise in the morning. He would have to go for the head if he wanted to stop them. Unfortunately, he was not the best shot at the best of times. Oh sure, he fulfilled his bi-monthly qualifications, but that didn't mean he was Annie Oakley. 

Vaughn yelled out, "I am a federal officer, and any attempt to harm me is a federal offense. Throw down your weapons and surrender. You're all under arrest!"

Vaughn seriously doubted what he said would have any impact, and as if to prove him right, all four men opened fire on his car. Vaughn cringed as he heard the bullets make a ding sound as they impacted against the metal of the car.

Vaughn stuck just his hand up and returned fire without aiming. He hoped to make the four men hesitate, and it seemed that he had succeeded as they stopped firing. He heard sounds of feet running on the pavement, and he felt some satisfaction at knowing that he had made them think twice about coming after him. At least for the time being.

Vaughn searched his surroundings, trying to find some way that he could escape through, or at the very least use as a better defensible position. Unfortunately, it looked like he was in an alley that ended in, fittingly enough, a dead end. There was one door about twenty feet away, but Vaughn didn't know if he could make it to the door in time. If he ran, he would expose his back to fire, but it looked like it was his only chance.

Firing the remainder of his clip out toward the four men, Vaughn leapt up and sprinted toward the door, placing a new magazine into his gun as he did. As he ran, he could hear and feel bullets whizzing past him. Bullets were impacting along the brick wall, sending little shards of brick flying at him and cutting his face.

Just as he reached the door, a bullet came just close enough to draw blood on his upper arm. Vaughn winced in pain but ignored it and slammed his shoulder into the door. When the door didn't budge, Vaughn fired his gun into the doorknob, and then rammed his shoulder into it again. The lock popped, and Vaughn stumbled into a dark room.

Breathing heavily, Vaughn brought his left hand up to grab his wound and searched the room he had just burst into. The room was dark, but from what he could see, it looked like he was in some kind of storeroom. There were boxes stacked all over the place.

Vaughn was about to move further into the room when the door behind him slammed open and he dived forward. As he landed on his shoulder, he slid along the floor and looked toward the door. The light from outside created an outline around his would be assassin and gave Vaughn enough light to aim and fire. The shot, amazingly enough, took his attacker in the head and the man went flying backwards. Vaughn got on his knees and moved farther back.

Vaughn peered from around a stack of boxes to see two men dragging their dead compatriot out of the doorway. Vaughn fired four shots in their direction, two hitting one man in the chest which caused him to grunt in annoyance, the other two going wild.

The two men who had dragged the dead attacker way, stepped into the doorway and opened fire. Because they could not see where Vaughn was exactly, they fired wildly. Their bullets shredded the boxes all around Vaughn but none came as close as the one outside had.

Vaughn was afraid of returning fire because any shot from him would surely give away his position in the darkened room. He peered at the doorway again and saw that the remaining three men were in the room.

He saw the men spread out and start walking forward. Vaughn knew he could not stay where he was and leapt to his feet and ran even further into the room. The three men, who had heard him running, shifted to look in his direction and fire. More bullets slammed into the boxes around him, and Vaughn returned fire.

Fate must have been on his side that day, because as he emptied his clip, he heard one of the men shout out in pain. 

Vaughn started to move around the boxes, attempting to move behind the men that had moved into the room. If he could get behind the men, he could either kill them or just leave the room and get outside.

Vaughn stuck his head out from a stack of boxes to see two of the men kneeling next to the third man who was lying on the ground. The man was moving around so Vaughn knew the man was not dead, but something was obviously wrong with him. Vaughn knew that this would be his best chance to do something as the three men were preoccupied.

Moving as quietly as he could, Vaughn began to sneak up on the two men. He had put his last magazine into his gun earlier, so whatever he was going to do, he had to do it quickly. He would be defenseless soon if the firefight continued.

Vaughn stepped on a piece of broken glass, and he instantly froze as the cracking sound exploded throughout the room. The two kneeling men instantly perked up and swung around to face Vaughn. Vaughn leapt to his side and landed hard. So hard that his gun flew out of his hand. Vaughn swore and frantically searched the ground for his gun.

He was too late. The two men were standing right above him as his hand closed on the handle of his piece. Vaughn looked up at the two men and saw one of them raise his gun and point it at Vaughn's head.

Vaughn asked desperately, "Why are you doing this? Who are you?"

Vaughn's only response was the man above him pulling the trigger.

  
  
  


To be continued.....................

  
  


P.S. I was wondering if anyone could tell me what Devlin's actual title is. I know he is not the Director of the CIA, but I am unsure if he is a deputy director, or something else entirely. Until someone who is in the know can tell me, I will just refer to him as Director Devlin. Oh, and comments on the action piece would be appreciated. I was afraid that it was too long, and would really like to know what you think.


	5. Chapter 5

Title: Angel Dark

Author: DOKChairman

Time: No particular time frame. Assume everything that has happened up to Counteragent is fair game.

Disclaimer: I do not own Alias. If I did, Dixon would actually appear in an episode this season, Marshall would be in practically every scene (that guy cracks me up so much), Sydney and Vaughn would at the very least admit that they have feelings for each other, and most importantly of all, Sydney would wear even less clothes than she usually does. Unfortunately for my bank account, J.J. Abrams, Bad Robot Productions, and ABC own Alias. I own nothing so don't sue me.

Pairing: This will be a Sydney/Vaughn piece. As if there's anything else.

Author's Note: As your friendly, neighborhood fanfic writer, I feel like giving all you present and future fanfic writers out there some important, albeit unsolicited, advice. Never, ever commit yourself to writing three very different epic length stories set in three different genres. Not only is it unbelievably time consuming, but it's confusing as hell. I can't count the number of times I have thought of one idea for one story one minute, and then the next minute, think of something else for another story entirely. Just to show you how screwed up I can get, I once had the crazy idea/dream of aliens from the Uncharted Territories crash landing in Sunnydale, California, where double agent Sydney Bristow happens to be a vampire slayer. I tell you, it was like taking a really bad acid trip. Anyways, that's the extent of my advice. If you value your sanity, you will heed it. Now onto the story!!!!!

  
  


When Sydney Bristow had arrived in the city of Madrid, Spain, she had been confronted with the disappointing, and worry-inducing, knowledge that her handler would not be handling her for her current mission. And while her father was more than capable of doing the job, he was no Michael Vaughn.

Not that her father was a poor substitute, but the fact of the matter was that Sydney had gotten used to Vaughn always looking over her shoulder. There was a reason why she was so adamant about Vaughn being her handler, and while her father, along with pretty much everyone else, would probably assume it had to do with her personal feelings for the man, they couldn't be more wrong.

Sure she had feelings for the him. He was her friend, as well as the potential to be something more, but those feelings had absolutely nothing to do with her loyalty to Michael Vaughn. In Sydney's opinion, to put it simply, he was the best the man for the job.

Her reasons were purely selfish in origin. She wanted Vaughn to be her handler simply because she knew that he would do everything humanly possible to make sure she continued on breathing. He had shown on numerous occasions that she was his priority, and that made her more comfortable with him than with anyone else. In the past she would have readily given her father the benefit of the doubt when it came to her well being, but after discovering his part in Project Christmas, she was not so quick to depend on him.

Vaughn was someone that not only could she depend on, but he was someone she trusted implicitly. He was the only person that she knew that she could tell everything to, and in return, have everything told to her on the straight and narrow. 

Vaughn was her emotional glue; he held her together and she knew if something were to ever happen to him, she may never recover. It wasn't that she was in love with him, because she wasn't. Or maybe she was, she wasn't entirely sure which yet; although she certainly knew she was starting to lean toward the was side of the situation. It was because she had put her emotional well being into the hands of one man, and if those hands were to suddenly disappear, she would be lost.

Naturally, that scared the hell out of her. But she had made the decision to put all her eggs in one basket, and she had to live with the consequences. Until she had met Alice she would have never even thought once that Vaughn could be taken from her. He had shown such devotion and loyalty to her that she had misguidedly thought he would never go anywhere. She had taken him for granted, intentionally or not, and now she faced the very real possibility of someone replacing her eggs with their own.

Unfortunately for her, there wasn't much she could do about the situation. She knew trying to start a relationship with him would be an exercise in futility. There were too many obstacles arrayed against them. There was the life ending threat of SD-6, and there was the potential career ending threat as well, although that threat applied more to Vaughn than to her. There was also the fact that Vaughn was a CIA "golden boy", and as such, was more prone to do things by the book.

There was a cynical part of Sydney's mind that constantly beat her over the head with the knowledge that Vaughn had shown on more than one occasion his willingness to bend, and even break, the rules, so maybe the reason why he hadn't tried anything was because he just wasn't interested. After all, it would say, he did have a girlfriend. Why would he be dating Alice if he was in love with her? 

If she had asked herself a month ago if she ever thought she might have to compete with another woman for Vaughn's affection, she would have dismissed the thought as ridiculous. She knew that made her sound arrogant and self-centered, but she couldn't help how she had felt. She had seen too many looks directed at her to think that Vaughn was only thinking about her in strictly Handler-Agent terms. The fact that he had a girlfriend threw her for such a loop, that she had actually started to question her entire relationship with Vaughn.

When she did, she came to the startling realization that she knew almost nothing about the man that held her life in the palm of his hand. She knew next to nothing about his personal life. All she knew was that he had a girlfriend, he was friends with Weiss, loved hockey, and that her mother had murdered his father. These were not exactly solid blocks to build a serious foundation on. She did not know where he lived, what his favorite food was, what kind of music he liked, was he a paper or plastic kind of guy, or even what his favorite color was. It was very unfair that he knew everything about her, but she knew next to nothing about him.

She knew of course that if she asked Vaughn all those questions he would more than likely tell her the answers, but for some reason the idea made her uncomfortable. It wasn't that she didn't want to know about the man that occupied a large portion of her thoughts, it was that she was afraid to know. She needed to find out why that was before she could make herself ask the questions that she needed answered.

Unfortunately, none of the thoughts that were currently racing through her head, were of any particular use to her in her current predicament. Deciphering Vaughn's mixed signals were of very little practical use when she was hiding in the closet of a highly guarded and highly secure mansion.

She had just finished planting her bug on her target's computer, when she had heard two people talking outside the door of the richly furnished office. She had briefly contemplated just disabling the two men outside the door, but she had quickly tossed that idea out the window when she realized that being stealthy was her best chance at escape. Besides, she wanted to avoid acquiring any new bruises. Just once, she would like to get through a mission without having to shoot or fight someone.

As soon as she had heard the voices, she had quickly made her way to the small, coat room like closet. She had just closed the door when the door to the office had opened and the two men who were outside walked into the room.

As soon as the two men entered the room, Sydney could make out their conversation. To her mild surprise, the men were speaking in English. It soon became clear why.

One of the men spoke in slightly accented English, "Your account number please?"

The second man spoke up in a distinctly American accent. "7160054920." Sydney soon heard the sound of typing. One of the men must be using the computer. Sydney immediately jumped to the conclusion that the man on the computer must be her target.

Marcos Ramirez Francisco was an internationally known dealer in just about anything known to man. But his specialty, and the reason why both the CIA and SD-6 were so interested in him, was dealing in hard to come by information. It was rumored that on his hardrive a list existed. A list said to contain detailed accounts of nearly every SD branch of the Alliance. The Alliance paid Marcos to hold that information for them, and the CIA wanted access to what Marcos knew.

So naturally, the CIA sent her to get that information. She had done her job, and now she was stuck in a closet barely big enough to hold her slight frame. Fortunately, her curiosity was starting to kick in, taking her mind off her discomfort. She could be hearing some possibly damaging information right from the horse's mouth.

The man she presumed to be Marcos spoke up, "Five million dollars as we agreed, no?"

The other man spoke up, "Yes. That information you gave us proved to be as informative as we hoped. I have been authorized by my employers to add a slight bonus of one million to your payment for your quick response."

Marcos responded graciously, "Thank you. It is a welcome feeling to do business with people who actually appreciate the subtleties and nuances of a job such as mine. It was not easy finding the names of those six CIA agents, especially not in the time allotted for the job."

Sydney heard the sound of a chair being dragged along the ground. She assumed the second man must be sitting down. "My employers wanted me to convey their sincerest apologies for rushing you, but we ourselves happen to be on a deadline. Those agents needed to be eliminated as quickly as possible before they could interfere with our plans."

There was a lull in conversation before Sydney heard a rustling sound. Soon the second man asked, "Do you have a light? I seem to have misplaced my lighter."

A drawer opened and Sydney heard the metallic clink of a lighter being opened, and then a second later, closed. There was a brief pause before the second man said, "Thanks." There was another pause and then the second man said humorously, "My doctor tells me I should quit smoking these things. Says that they'll give me throat cancer or some other nonsense. I just tell him that if a man can't enjoy a good cigar, then what's the point in living? You know what I'm saying?"

Marcos laughed good naturedeley. "Si my friend. A man must allow himself a few pleasures in life if he wishes to be happy."

The two men grew quiet until Marcos spoke up a few seconds later. "It seems that the transaction is complete. Our business is over my friend. If you are in need of any more information, feel more than welcome to give me a call. My standard fee applies of course, but I'll be more than happy to make your inquiry a priority."

The second man spoke, "I'll be sure to convey your offer to my employers. You may still prove useful to us."

Sydney heard the sound of the second man's chair moving again and surmised that he was getting up to leave. "Oh, one more thing Marcos. You know that information you gave us on the woman, Tiffany Greene?"

"Yes. What about it?"

The second man responded, and Sydney could hear the friendly tone leave his voice. "It was wrong."

Marcos sounded surprised. "Wrong? But I was assured that the information was genuine."

"Apparently not. When our men arrived at the location you provided us, the location that you assured us was correct, she was nowhere to be found."

Marcos tried to defend himself. "Surely you don't blame me for this. I had no idea that the information provided to me was false. Besides, how important can she be? I provided you with accurate information regarding the rest of the team, did I not?"

The second man got angry, "How important? She was a close friend of the project leader. She has detailed information regarding the inner workings of the project. She was one of our primary targets."

Sydney could tell that Marcos was starting to get scared. "I'm sorry. I will be more than happy to pay you back the money. There is no need to let this incident escalate into something more than it is. This is just an unfortunate misunderstanding."

The second man's voice grew cold and hard. "Unfortunately Marcos, things are not that simple. The information you gave us caused my employers to be misinformed, and my employers hate being misinformed. And when my employers hate something, they tend do everything in their power to get rid of it."

Before Sydney completely understood what was happening, she heard the distinct sound of a gun being cocked. Less than a second later, she heard a low oomph sound, a sound she recognized as a silenced pistol being fired, and then she heard the sound of a body hitting the floor. 

Sydney leaned back against the closet wall in stunned silence. Apparently, Marcos Ramirez Francisco was no longer in the information biz. She needed to report this information to Kendall as soon as possible. Marcos' death could cause a ripple in the entire Alliance framework. Losing a key figure in their organization was not likely to make them happy.

Plus there was the added knowledge that someone was eliminating CIA agents. That was something she was sure Kendall would want to know.

Sydney heard the sound of the office door opening and closing, and after waiting for about thirty seconds, she left her hiding spot. She immediately searched for Marcos' body, and sure enough, found it sprawled in a heap behind his desk. She could see a bullet wound in the center of his head. Sydney was impressed. Whoever the strange man was, he was obviously a professional.

Sitting in Marcos' desk chair, she activated her com. "This is Mountaineer."

Her father's disembodied voice came over the com line promptly, "Go ahead Mountaineer."

"The bug has been planted, but Francisco is dead."

She could clearly hear the surprise in her father's voice. "Say again. Did you say that Francisco is dead?"

"Yes. Executed; single shot to the head. Whoever killed him was a professional."

Her father asked, "So you don't know who did it?"

"No. I was hiding in a closet when it happened. I couldn't see who he was, but dad, he killed him because Francisco gave him bad information." Sydney explained.

"What kind of information?"

"I'm not completely sure, but I know it had to do with six CIA agents. Apparently, some of the information about a Tiffany Greene was wrong and the man killed him for it. That's all I know." Sydney paused before continuing, "I think that whatever happened in here is important. I got the feeling that whoever is responsible is planning something big."

Her father sighed. "We'll get right on it. If somebody is trying to get secret information about six CIA agents, it can't be good."

Sydney heard Kendall come on the line. "The death of Marcos Francisco changes things Agent Bristow. The Alliance will not be happy. Leave immediately and make your way to the extraction point. We'll have to debrief you on these new developments when you return."

Sydney acknowledged Kendall's orders, said goodbye to her father, and began making her escape of the mansion.

  


When Sydney walked into the Joint Task Force operations room after her debriefing, and saw that Vaughn was nowhere in sight, she really began to worry. It was totally against Vaughn's character to go missing for an entire day, especially a day in which Sydney was on a mission. She was really starting to wonder if something bad had happened to him.

She was just about to go looking for her father to ask him what he knew, when she spotted him walking towards her. There was a grim look on his face that she spotted right off the bat, and a chill overcame her body. Something told her that what he had to say was not good news.

She asked her father what was wrong, and to her surprise, he had a hard time answering. "When Vaughn didn't show up this morning, I knew that you would be worried, so I asked around to see if anybody knew anything." Her father stopped and looked sadly at Sydney.

Sydney felt her voice choke up and she barely managed to croak out, "What did you find out?"

Her father was silent as he stared at her. She was about to ask him what was going on when he finally spoke up. "There was an accident Sydney."

Sydney felt her knees grow weak and she had to reach out to the desk next to her to steady herself. "An accident?"

"Yes. After leaving Devlin's office, Vaughn was heading to his apartment. Apparently there was an accident, Vaughn lost control of his car and it slammed into the side of a building." Jack had to stop to gather himself. He could not allow himself to show weakness in front of his daughter. Not now. Not after what he was about to tell her. She would need him to be strong for her.

Jack continued after reigning his emotions under control. "Some people tried to help him, but there was an explosion." Jack stared straight into Sydney's eyes as he said as gently as he could, "Vaughn was still in the car when it exploded. Vaughn is dead Sydney."

Sydney just collapsed into the chair next to her and stared into space, as a single tear ran down her cheek. It seemed her fears about her basket being taken away from her were true after all.

To be continued...........................

  
  


P.S. Thanks for all the great feedback, although I was kind of disappointed that the responses tapered down instead of going up, but oh well. And thanks for all the responses on the Devlin question. While I was inundated with many different responses, they were all useful. Also, I wanted to say that as a writer, I received my very first death threat (made in jest, I know). Go me. It's a great feeling when people threaten your life because of something you wrote. Thanks all and don't forget to read and review.

  



	6. Chapter 6

Title: Angel Dark

Author: DOKChairman

Time: No particular time frame. Assume everything that has happened up to Counteragent is fair game.

Disclaimer: I do not own Alias. If I did, Dixon would actually appear in an episode this season, Marshall would be in practically every scene (that guy cracks me up so much), Sydney and Vaughn would at the very least admit that they have feelings for each other, and most importantly of all, Sydney would wear even less clothes than she usually does. Unfortunately for my bank account, J.J. Abrams, Bad Robot Productions, and ABC own Alias. I own nothing so don't sue me.

Pairing: This will be a Sydney/Vaughn piece. As if there's anything else.

Author's Note: The responses that I have gotten for the last few chapters have been, how do I say this delicately...umm, funny as hell I think is appropriate enough. One person out of all the people who left a review actually guessed the storyline for the next few chapters. I won't say who because that would give everything away, but the person deserves a pat on the back. Thanks for the phenomenal feedback. All the people who were worried about Vaughn being dead made me laugh. Not in a mean way, its just that your responses were so damn funny. I was laughing with you. I swear. Thanks guys. I love you all.

Author's Note: I apologize for the briefness of this chapter. This is the final bit of set up before we get to the real heart of the story, and everyone finally finds out what really happened to Vaughn. Unfortunately, finals are starting so it may be awhile before I update again. Sorry.

  


This chapter takes place one month after the events in the last chapter, i.e. Sydney's mission and her subsequent learning of Vaughn's death.

  
  


Sydney unlocked the door to her house and slowly drudged her way through. She was in no hurry. In fact there was no place else she would rather be than in her own home. It was the last bastion of her sanity.

It had been one month since she had learned about the death of her handler, and she had not even begun to recover. Losing Danny had almost destroyed her, and she was quite sure that losing Vaughn had finished the job.

Almost immediately after finding out about Vaughn, her father had practically begged her to get out. For the longest time she had seriously contemplated doing just that. Just forgetting it all. Leaving her twisted, painful, screwed up life and starting over. Ultimately, though, she stayed. Why? She wasn't entirely sure why, although she suspected it had to do with two things.

Despite all the pain that her life as a double agent had caused her, it was the only life she knew how to live. She didn't know if she would be able to function in normal society. Even though she railed against her lifestyle, secretly she knew she craved the excitement, danger, and adrenaline pumping action. It was what made her who she was. When she was on a mission she wasn't Sydney Bristow, she was SD-6/CIA Agent Bristow. They were separate people, with separate identities. She liked to think that they were one in the same, but rarely did they ever coalesce. 

The second reason why she found herself having difficulty leaving had to do with her friends and family. She couldn't just leave Francie and Will. Although it was unbelievably hard trying to hide the pain of Vaughn's death from Francie, Will had been her emotional life support in the last month. He had been there for her, without question or complaint, and Sydney loved him for it. Their relationship had grown in leaps and bounds since then, and Sydney couldn't be happier about that aspect of her life. Francie was another matter.

She had realized a few weeks ago that she had been unconsciously avoiding Francie. It was just too hard having to hold everything in when she was around her. It was bad enough having to do it around Sloane and the others at SD-6; it was downright excruciating hiding it from her best friend. Will had called her on it, they had talked about it, and Sydney had promised both Will and herself that she would do her best to stop avoiding Francie. But it was hard. Francie, like always, picked up on her emotional breakdowns and was asking questions. Sydney had tried the best she could to deflect and evade them, but she was getting too damn tired doing it every day.

Fortunately, Francie had stopped asking questions a few days ago, and things were starting to get better between them. Sydney suspected that Francie and Will had had a talk, and Will had persuaded her to back off. Now Sydney was finding it easier to relax at home, which was one of the reason why she considered it to be her sanctuary. It was someplace where she could grieve and cry in peace, without any prying eyes or curious friends.

About the only other good thing to come out of Vaughn's death was her closeness with her father. It made her ashamed to say that even a little good could have come out of Vaughn dying, but her relationship with her father was going better than ever. Jack Bristow was almost like a different man. He was acting like the father that both he and Sydney wanted him to be. 

From the very beginning, he had been a shoulder for her to cry on, for her to talk too, and for her to tell how she truly felt about the man that had been her handler. He had done all this without judgment or reproach. He had had a "talk" with Kendall when he had wanted to send Sydney on a mission three days after Vaughn's death, and he had refused to allow Kendall to assign anyone new to be Sydney's handler. He had taken over Vaughn's duties, and that more than anything else, meant more to Sydney than she could probably ever tell him. If she couldn't have Vaughn, then the only person she would ever consider filling his role would be her father.

Despite the improvements in the relationships with the two remaining men in her life, she knew that she wasn't really living. She had stopped doing that the second she heard that Vaughn was dead. She was just going through the motions. She was actually amazed that no one at SD-6 had picked up on her lifeless persona. Either she was the best actress in the history of mankind, or else they were just totally oblivious. To be fair, she suspected that Dixon was starting to pick up on things. She was half-expecting him to confront her on how she was feeling every time she saw him.

Sloane, she knew, was also starting to get a little suspicious. He had been looking at her differently than his general smarmy way a lot lately. She had become especially paranoid when she had heard that her father had requested that Sloane giver her some vacation time. She had been mad at her father when she had heard that, but with the way he was treating her, she couldn't stay mad at him for very long. Besides, nothing had come of his request. Sydney had gotten her time off, and Sloane had not seemed aware of any ulterior motives, but after the way he had been acting lately, she wasn't so sure that was true anymore.

Sydney was brought out of her ruminations by a loud clash coming from her kitchen. She felt a small smile grace her lips when she saw Francie digging through one of the cupboards. She asked loudly, "What are you looking for?"

Francie, in surprise, jumped and turned around quickly. When she saw Sydney, she calmed down and shot her roommate a disapproving look. "Jesus Syd! You scared me. I didn't even hear you come in."

Sydney laughed slightly. "Maybe if you weren't making so much noise you would have heard me. What are you looking for anyway?"

Francie got a look of consternation on her face and turned back around to stare accusingly at the cupboard. "I was looking for some coffee. I know I put it in here last night, but it seems to have disappeared since then."

Sydney laughed again and after placing her stuff down on a counter went over to stare at the cupboard with Francie. Sydney cocked her head and said, "You know, staring at the cupboard is not going to make the coffee magically appear."

Francie frowned at Sydney. "I know. I just thought that maybe if I stared at it long enough, it would begin to feel guilty for taking my coffee and it would give it back."

Sydney stared at Francie like she was an alien with two heads and Francie got defensive. "What? This is L.A. you know. Stranger things have happened."

Sydney let out a genuinely hearty laugh, and turned back to look at the cupboard. "You know, I think I saw Will using the coffee this morning before I left for work. He must have moved it."

Francie groaned dramatically. "God. Doesn't even ever eat at his own house. Now I have to wait until he comes over before I can have my coffee."

Sydney patted Francie on the back mockingly and started to walk away. Over her shoulder she said, "I'm going to get changed. Why don't you just call Will and ask him, and while your at it, ask him to bring a pizza over or something. I don't feel like going out tonight."

Francie frowned at Sydney's retreating form and mumbled to herself, "When do you ever feel like going out anymore?"

Francie then sighed and walked over to the phone. She was just about to dial Will's number when she heard someone knocking at the door. Walking towards the door she yelled to Sydney who was coming out of her room as well, "I'll get it." Francie saw Sydney shrug her shoulders and move back into her room to finish changing.

When Francie opened the door she saw that there was a deliveryman outside. Francie was mildly surprised, she wasn't expecting any packages and she was sure Sydney wasn't either.

The deliveryman said, "I have a package for Sydney Bristow."

Francie smiled and said, "I'll take it."

The deliveryman asked. "Are you Sydney Bristow?"

"No, but I'm her roommate. Don't worry, I'll make sure she gets it."

The deliveryman shook his head. "I'm sorry, but my instructions explicitly say that only Sydney Bristow can accept this package. No one else. Is she here?"

Sydney suddenly appeared behind Francie, dressed in a pair of sweats and a too-big sweatshirt. When she saw the confrontational looks on both Francie and the deliveryman, she asked, "What's going on?"

The deliveryman ignored her question and instead asked one of his own. "Are you Sydney Bristow?" When Sydney said yes, the man sighed in relief and handed the small package he held in his hand to her. He then produced a clipboard. "I need you to sign for the package."

Sydney signed her name, and the man turned around and left, moving as fast as he could. Sydney said to Francie as they walked back inside the house, "I think you scared him off Francie."

Francie shrugged her shoulders and then said unappologetically, "Yeah, well, he was being an ass. I don't know why he couldn't just let me take the package."

Sydney laughed lightly and placed the small, brown package on a counter. Francie asked, "I wonder what it is?"

"Let's find out." Sydney then begun to open the package. In the package was a small black box, which looked suspiciously like a jewelry box, and a note. Sydney picked up the note and began to read.

_Sydney-_

_Be at the pier at midnight. You know the place I'm talking about. Come alone and tell absolutely no one._

Sydney looked at the note confusedly. What the hell? Her confusion soon passed to blind rage. Was someone trying to play some sick joke on her? Only Vaughn supposedly knew of that pier, but Vaughn was dead so who the hell was sending her this note. 

When Sydney picked up the black box, her hands were shaking. Francie saw and asked her what was wrong. Sydney just ignored her and focused solely on the box she was holding in her hands. 

Sydney tentatively opened the box and all the color drained from her face. Lying on a layer of black felt was a beautiful, gold necklace. In the middle of the necklace was the object that had made Sydney feel a pit form in her stomach. The object was a small, intricately carved, gleaming gold angel.

To be continued...................

  


P.S. Thanks for all the great responses. Its nice to know that so many of you take my impending death so lightly. Way to make a guy feel appreciated. In other topics, I need more reviews people. I need them like a crack head needs his latest fix, so don't make me go cold turkey. What I have gotten so far have been great, and I notice that I seem to building up a fan base, but I've also noticed that the people who review are the same people who always review. I want new people to tell me what they think. You people know who you are. You're like the people that go out to eat and then dine and dash. I need my reviews people. I can already feel the shakes starting.


	7. Chapter 7

Title: Angel Dark

Author: DOKChairman

Time: No particular time frame. Assume everything that has happened up to Counteragent is fair game.

Disclaimer: I do not own Alias. If I did, Dixon would actually appear in an episode this season, Marshall would be in practically every scene (that guy cracks me up so much), Sydney and Vaughn would at the very least admit that they have feelings for each other, and most importantly of all, Sydney would wear even less clothes than she usually does. Unfortunately for my bank account, J.J. Abrams, Bad Robot Productions, and ABC own Alias. I own nothing so don't sue me.

Pairing: This will be a Sydney/Vaughn piece. As if there's anything else.

Author's Note: I know that I said it would be awhile before I updated again, and honestly, I tried to space this apart, but for some reason right now I can't not write. The creative juices won't stop flowing and this story is all I can think about. But I'm trying. THIS will be the last update for awhile. As I mentioned earlier, I do have other stories that need attention, and I have neglected them in favor of this one. Look forward to a new chapter near Christmas time, no sooner.

  
  


Tiffany Greene looked over at the man to her right and asked for the third time that night, "Are you sure we can trust her?"

The man groaned in a self suffering way and responded in a voice laced with frustration. "Yes! I told you already that I trust her with my life."

The woman did not feel sorry for asking her question. "That's great for you Mikey, but as much as I love you, its not your life I'm worried about. The question I need answered is: can you trust her with my life?"

Michael Vaughn sighed and ran his hand stiffly through his hair. "If I thought for one second that your life would be in danger, we would not be sitting here. Just trust me on this Tif. I know Sydney Bristow better than she knows herself."

The woman turned her head back to face the front of the car, and made a quick survey of the street they were parked on. She was trying not to show how paranoid she was, but she wasn't doing a very good job. Which was strange, because to Vaughn, Tiffany Greene was the best actress he had ever seen. Not even Sydney could mask her feelings and immerse herself in a role as well as Tiffany could. It was one of the reasons why she had been such a great agent. That and the fact that she was drop dead gorgeous.

After seeing that the coast was clear, Tiffany turned her head back to face her companion. "That's something I wanted to talk to you about. It's a bit stalkerish don't you think?" She asked wryly. She tried not to smile, but she had never been able to mask herself very well when she was around Michael. He just knew her too well.

Vaughn responded defensively, "Hey! I was her handler. It was my job to know everything about her."

Tiffany laughed at Vaughn's reaction. "Relax Mikey, I'm just giving you a hard time. You know how much I love yankin' your chain."

Vaughn snorted in response. It wasn't much of a come back, he knew, but he had never been one for the witty one liners. He tended to leave that up to Tiffany, who had been the designated jokester of their little family. Besides, he liked to use more subtle, clandestine means in getting his revenge. 

A comfortable silence overcame the two, until Tiffany decided to break it. She was never silent for very long. There was a question Tiffany desperately wanted answered. "Why her?"

Vaughn looked at Tiffany with confusion written plainly across his face. "Huh?" He asked.

Tiffany quickly turned and waved her hand in a sweeping motion, including Sydney's house that was half a block away. Again she asked, "Why her? Why Sydney Bristow? What makes her different than all the Alices, Mollys, and Diannes?"

Understanding dawned in Vaughn's mind. He shrugged his shoulders. "I honestly don't know. There is something about her that is just so...amazing. Its hard to describe."

That was not what Tiffany wanted to hear. "Is it because she's beautiful? Because your not such a bad looking guy yourself.. It can't be because she's the only hot girl around."

Vaughn looked at Tiffany disappointedly. "Give me a little more credit Tif. You know I'm not like that."

Tiffany growled out, "Then what is it?"

Vaughn set her question to the side and asked, "Why the hell are you so interested? You've never wanted to know about my love life in the past."

"That's because my life has never depended on knowing who you were in love with in the past. I need to know if your letting your feelings for Sydney cloud your judgement." Tiffany practically shouted at Vaughn.

Vaughn stared at Tiffany in shock. He had forgotten how fast the two of them could go from peaceable conversation to no holds barred shouting matches. Crying indignantly, he said, "When have I ever let my feelings for somebody affect the way I handle a mission." Vaugnh cringed after his retort. What he had said was definitely not the truth. He had let his feelings for Sydney affect his judgment on multiple occasions; Tiffany just didn't need to know that.

Tiffany let out a chuckle and said, "Do I even have to bring up that Italian girl in Rome?"

Vaughn felt heat flood his face and he blushed a deep shade of red. That was something he had hoped would never be brought up again. "You promised me that you would never ever mention her again!" 

Tiffany shrugged her shoulders in amusement and smiled at Vaughn. "What can I say? I guess I lied."

Vaughn was still embarrassed. "That was a one-time deal only, and I've never let it happen again. I learned my lesson the first time. Now let's move on and never speak of it again."

Tiffany chuckled liltingly. "Seriously Vaughn, I want to know."

Vaughn sighed. "I don't know what to tell you. She's Sydney." Vaughn said Sydney's name like it was an all encompassing description.

Tiffany replied sarcastically, "Oh she's Sydney. Well that explains that." She then blatantly rolled her eyes.

Vaughn groaned in frustration. He did not want to have this conversation. He couldn't even explain to himself why he felt the way he did about Sydney, let alone to someone who was a complete outsider to the situation. 

For some reason though, a part of him wanted to tell Tiffany how he felt about his agent. For once, he could talk to someone who would not judge him on his feelings, or condemn him for violating protocol. He had been bottling up how he felt for so long, that it was really starting to make him miserable. Besides, describing his feelings might help him understand them as well. While he knew he certainly had very strong feelings for Sydney, he wasn't completely convinced yet that he was in love with her.

Hoping to give the impression of having his reasons forced out of him, instead of conveying the therapeutic feelings that it was really creating, Vaughn frowned and said harshly, "Fine! I'll tell you. But you have to promise me that what I say will never leave this car. I mean it this time Tif. No repeat of the Rome thing."

Tiffany gave a tiny nod and said, "I promise Mikey. Cross my heart and hope to die."

Satisfied with her response, Vaughn settled into his chair to elucidate on his feelings. "I don't know how to really begin. Is it because she's beautiful? I'm not going to lie to you and tell you that that's not a part of it, but its certainly not everything. She's extremely intelligent, and you know how much I love smart women. She is the most strong willed person I have ever met. And she has this underlying sense of vulnerability that is very endearing, despite the fact that she can incapacitate a man twice her size in less than ten seconds. She is fiercly loyal and protective of her friends, which is something I can definitely relate to." Vaughn gave Tiffany a small grin, and Tiffany returned the gesture.

Vaughn continued on, "In short, she's just more amazing than any other woman that I have ever met."

Tiffany's eyes sparkled. "Wow. You make her sound like she's the second coming or something."

Vaughn blushed. He said sheepishly, "Sorry I got a little carried away, but when it comes to Sydney I tend to lose my head."

Tiffany snorted and said, "I can tell. Which kind of reinforces my earlier fears. That maybe your seeing this whole situation through Sydney colored glasses."

"Look. I know that it may sound like I'm saying that Sydney is the greatest thing since sliced bread, but do you honestly think that I would risk both our lives just so that I could see her again. Hell, I've waited a month already. If I didn't care about the consequences, I would have rushed to see her weeks ago."

Tiffany sighed. "I know Vaughn. I do trust you. Its just that after seeing Krugar get gunned down less than twenty feet from me, I tend to get a little suspicious of just about everyone. I'm half-expecting some whacked out crazies to come gunning for me every time I turn a corner. I mean look at what happened to you."

Vaughn unconsciously moved his left hand up to his right shoulder and lightly rubbed it. His shoulder still hurt after a month of healing. "You don't have to remind me Tif. If it wasn't for you, I'd be nothing more than a star on a marble wall."

Tiffany smiled indulgently at Vaughn and patted him on his head. "Ahhhh. I wasn't about to let my favorite man die, was I?"

Vaughn slapped her hand away and gave her a pained look. Vaughn was about to retort when he noticed Sydney's front door open. Both Tiffany and Vaughn went instantly on alert, and Tiffany poised herself to start the car. 

Still keeping her eyes forward, Tiffany said, "We'll wait five minutes to see if anyone is tailing her, and then we'll go."

Vaughn nodded his head in agreement. He couldn't help but feel excited. It had been an excruciatingly long month, and not seeing Sydney had made it more painful than he could ever imagine. He couldn't count the number of times that he had wanted to just pick up a phone and call her. To hear her voice. To tell her that he was in fact alive. But he couldn't. To do so would put his life at risk, and the life of the woman sitting next to him. It was only now, after certain steps had been taken and certain continency plans put in place, could he risk seeing Sydney. Even so, he knew he was taking a big chance.

It wasn't that he didn't trust Sydney, because he did, wholeheartedly, but things had been too hot earlier to do anything. He knew that the people who were after him suspected that he was still alive, but they didn't have any proof. There had always been a chance that Sydney could accidently let slip that he was alive, and that would have been disastrous. Now, it wasn't so much of a problem. Vaughn was more ready to move out in the open now that he was healed.

Vaughn felt the car start, and Tiffany pulled out onto the street. Now that they were underway, Vaughn could focus solely on what he was going to tell Sydney. That and praying that she wouldn't be extremely pissed at him for making her think he was dead.

  
  


Sydney wrapped her coat tighter around her body as she shuddered. It was an unusually cold night for Los Angeles, although Sydney attributed it to the supposed weather front that was moving in from the Pacific. All that it really meant was that she would have to start wearing warmer clothes. It was no big inconvenience. 

Sydney lifted her arm up to check her watch and when she noticed the time she frowned. Whoever had sent her that package was already ten minutes late. Naturally, of course, she was hoping beyond hope that Vaughn had sent the package, but she had prepared herself for the reality that this whole set up was nothing more than an elaborate hoax. Perpetrated by who, she had no idea. One thing was for sure though, she was going to find out. And when she did, there was going to be hell to pay.

Sydney could take some comfort in the knowledge that the things said in the note and the angel necklace were things only she and Vaughn would really understand. The pier could be explainable, but the necklace was not. She was pretty sure she had only called Vaughn her guardian angel one time in front of other people, and she seriously doubted that the CIA tech guys would be doing this to her.

If Vaughn was alive, she didn't know what she would do. She would be happy to see him of course. She would probably even cry. But after the feelings of relief had passed, she was unsure of how she would react. Would she be angry and hurt that Vaughn had kept from her the fact that he was alive for so long? Would she demand an explanation? Would she cause serious physical pain to the man for making her life a downright living hell for an entire month? The answer to all those questions were more than likely a resounding yes.

But first, she needed to find him. She checked her watch and noticed that another five minutes had passed. It was now 12:15. If the person was Vaughn, she thought, he was acting totally out of character. She had never known Vaughn to be late for anything in his life. 

Sydney decided that she would wait fifteen more minutes. If whoever didn't show up by then, she was going home. Sydney looked passed the pier she was standing on and stared at the moonlight reflecting off the ocean's surface.

Another five minutes passed, and Sydney was starting to accept the fact that nobody was coming. That was until she heard the sound of feet running on payment. Looking toward the direction of the approaching footfalls quickly, Sydney futilely tried to reign in her excitement. 

Unfortunately, as she had been expecting, the owner of those feet wasn't Vaughn. In fact, the person running toward her was decidedly female. On first glance, Sydney would have passed off the black haired woman walking toward her as nothing more than a runner. She certainly looked the part. From what Sydney could see through the fog and the dark, the woman was wearing a pair of slightly baggy jogging pants, a hooded sweatshirt with the logo of the Kings on the front, and a pair of running shoes. 

However, despite her appearance, she did not give off the persona of a woman out for a run. Who runs at 12:20 at night anyway? Sydney wondered. Something about the woman was screaming out to Sydney to pay attention.

As the woman got closer, she slowed down. When she was less than five feet from Sydney, she stopped altogether. Before Sydney could ask what was going on, the woman spoke up. When she did, her voice was even and business like. "Sydney Bristow?"

Surprised that the woman knew her name, Sydney could only nod her head. It seemed like this was the person who had sent her the package.

The woman pulled a small electronic device out of the front pouch of her sweatshirt and asked, "Do you mind?" Sydney instantly recognized the device and gave the woman her assent. The woman efficiently ran the device over Sydney's body, checking for bugs. When the scan came up with nothing, the woman put the device back into her pouch and relaxed.

The woman grinned at Sydney. "Sorry. You can never be to careful."

"I understand." Sydney paused and then added angrily, "Who the hell are you?"

The woman just grinned and stuck out her hand. "Name's Tiffany Greene."

Sydney looked warily at the proffered hand, and after awhile of staring at it, she hesitantly shook it. That was when the woman's name registered. "Wait. Did you say your name was Tiffany Greene?"

"Yep. So you've heard of me huh? I wonder why Mikey never said anything about that."

"Yes. I overheard a conversation that involved you... and did you just say that you know Michael Vaughn?" Sydney asked excitedly.

Tiffany snorted in amusement. "Do I know Michael Vaughn? Vaughn and I are like family."

Sydney was growing even more excited by the second. Tiffany was talking in the present tense, which meant that Vaughn had to be alive. Either that or the woman in front of her was crazy or lying. Sydney desperately wanted to believe that her first thought was true.

"Is he alive?" Sydney asked hopefully.

Tiffany hesitated for a few seconds before answering. "Yes."

One word was all it took to make Sydney grab hold of the railing next to her. It was all that was keeping her standing. Tears started to build in her eyes, and she got all choked up. "Where is he?"

A voice from behind her answered her question softly. "I'm right here Syd."

Sydney spun around so fast that her hair went whipping in the air. When she saw Michael Vaughn in front of her, she gasped audibly and felt her control over her tears slipping. Vaughn saw the state she was in, and feeling unable to stop himself, he wrapped his arms around her in a hug.

Sydney clung onto Vaughn like he was a lifeline to her sanity, which in fact he was. Knowing that he was alive, instantly made her feel better and made her think that things in the world were now in their proper place.

Vaughn, for his part, wrapped his arms tighter around Sydney and murmured incomprehensible words into her ear. His tone was soothing and soon Sydney had calmed down enough to look up at Vaughn. To both their surprise, a few tears could be seen in Vaughn's eyes as well. He hadn't even been aware he was crying.

Laughing embarrassingly, Vaughn quickly dried his eyes and tried to take a step backwards, but Sydney wouldn't let him. She was still holding on to him with an iron grip.

Kindly, Vaughn said. "Sydney, I know that this is an emotional moment right now, but now is not the time."

It hurt Vaughn to see the heartbroken look on Sydney's face, but he had to stay focused. His purpose was to tell Sydney everything that had happened, not ball his eyes out. Talk about unprofessional behavior.

"What's wrong Vaughn? Why are you alive? Why did you wait so long to tell me?" All sorts of questions started rapidly exploding out of Sydney's mouth.

"Those are all good questions Syd, and I hope to tell you all the answers." Vaughn was suddenly hit with a case of apprehension and nervousness. For the first time, he was questioning whether or not to tell Sydney what was going on. A great time to have second thoughts you moron, Vaughn berated himself. Telling Sydney would only put her in danger and add even more complications to her overly complicated life. However, one look at the determined look on Sydney's face washed away any reluctance he might have had. He knew that look. It was a look that said either you tell me or I'll find out on my own and when I do, you'll pay for not telling me sooner.

"Well Vaughn, what are they?" Sydney was getting impatient waiting for Vaughn to say something.

Vaugnh laughed at her attitude. Apparently that was the wrong thing to do, because Sydney got even more angry and impatient. Warningly, she said, "Vaughn." Vaughn instantly heard the implied threat in her saying of his name.

"I did what I had to do Syd. There are people who are looking to kill me, and making them think that I was dead was the only way to get them off my back for a little while. Unfortunately, that meant I had to let everyone think that I was dead. Including you." Vaughn finally started explaining.

Sydney said painfully, "But why a month? Do you have any idea of the hell you've put me through?"

"Yes. Yes I do Syd. The same hell I've been going through too." Vaughn said seriously.

Sydney looked at Vaughn's green eyes and saw the pain and desperation she was feeling reflected in his haunted gaze. Sydney instantly felt guilty. Here she was thinking of only herself, when Vaughn had obviously been fighting for his life. A sudden urge to hug Vaughn again came over her, but this time she restrained herself.

"Why are people trying to kill you Vaughn? What the hell is going on?"

Vaughn sighed. "Its complicated Sydney. I want to tell you, and don't worry I will, but you have to give me time. It involves a part of my past that I don't like to think about."

Sydney allowed herself to be placated by his words. She could certainly understand his reluctance to reflect on his past. She certainly hated to think about hers. She preferred to think of the future, where she and Vaughn wouldn't have to meet on a secluded pier at midnight in order to have a simple conversation.

"Alright, Vaughn, I can accept that you need your time. What I don't understand is if people are trying to kill you, then why don't you go to the CIA? Surely they should be able to protect you."

Vaughn sighed again and then said ominously, "Unfortunately Syd, its not that easy. The reason I can't go to the CIA is because the CIA are the ones who are trying to kill me."

To be continued.....................

  
  


P.S. Thanks to the reviews, my shakes have stopped and I have become blissfully unaware of the rest of the world. Ooooo, look at all the pretty colors. Anyway, I have some not so serious topics to bring up with you. A) What do you think of Tiffany Greene? I have major plans for her, as she is to become a main character. Well maybe. And for all of you out there worrying, no she is not a Mary Sue. I have plans for her that you will probably never think of in a million years. Well maybe not a million, but you get the idea. B) I would be more than happy to hear any story ideas/thoughts/opinions. I like to think of myself as an interactive author, as my other stories will showcase, and I tend to take reader suggestions seriously. C) This may seem off the wall, but I'm curious to know how many of my readers are female? Don't ask why I want to know, I have my reasons. If you don't feel like answering, that's fine, I don't care. I'm just trying to conduct a little sociological survey.


	8. Chapter 8

Title: Angel Dark

Author: DOKChairman

Time: No particular time frame. Assume everything that has happened up to Counteragent is fair game.

Disclaimer: I do not own Alias. If I did, Dixon would actually appear in an episode this season, Marshall would be in practically every scene (that guy cracks me up so much), Sydney and Vaughn would at the very least admit that they have feelings for each other, and most importantly of all, Sydney would wear even less clothes than she usually does. Unfortunately for my bank account, J.J. Abrams, Bad Robot Productions, and ABC own Alias. I own nothing so don't sue me.

Pairing: This will be a Sydney/Vaughn piece. As if there's anything else.

Author's Note: I want to start right off the bat with saying that this note will be rather long, so if you don't want to spend time reading it, feel free to move down to the second author's note. This note is mainly for the benefit of only two people anyway. The two people I'm talking about are Jada Lynne and an anonymous reviewer. You guys scare me. Seriously, you really weird me out. I don't know how you're doing it, but somehow both of you have successfully guessed, repeatedly I might add, what direction the story is going in. I'm beginning to wonder if you have some special telepathic ability, or if my story is just that predictable. I take solace in the fact that my take on the CIA surprised you Jada, but somehow you still managed to gain some insight into my thought processes. I may have to change my story now. 

From now on, I ask that if you have any more "insights", you send me an e-mail instead of posting them on the open review board. I don't want to sound like I'm angry with you, because I'm not, I just don't want the story being so easily picked to pieces :). Now that's not to say I don't want you to review, because I do. Just don't post anymore of your predictions. I know its not your fault your brilliant, but I'm too stupid to come up with enough credible twists to stay ahead of you. 

  


Author's Note: I would just like to say that I really dislike this chapter. Honestly, if I wasn't so swamped with other stories, school, and life, I would rewrite this whole chapter. Unfortunately, I'm too busy to do anything as time consuming as that, so you guys get the short end of the stick. I'm sorry. I'm only posting it because I promised a new chapter, and I always keep my promises. If the response to the chapter is good, then I'll probably keep it as is. However, if you guys hate it, then off to the chopping block it goes. I will redo the whole thing and repost it at a later time, of course that will mean, a much later time. It's really all up to you.

  
  


Sydney stared at Vaughn in open-mouthed shock. "Did-d-d you just s-say that the CIA is trying to kill you?" Sydney was so shocked that her question came out in a stutter.

Vaughn frowned. "Yes and no."

"What do you mean yes and no? Either they're trying to kill you or they're not. There's not really a middle ground in a situation like this." 

Vaughn frowned again. "What I mean is that there are people within the CIA who are trying to kill me. I'm not saying everyone in the Agency is out to get me, just a few. Unfortunately, since I don't know who those few are, I have to avoid the entire Agency altogether."

Sydney asked desperately, "But why are they trying to kill you Vaughn? Please tell me!"

Vaughn tried to avoid talking about it. Instead he said, "You're cold Sydney. Maybe we should talk about this in my car."

Sydney shook her head resolutely. "No. We are not leaving this spot until you tell me everything. And I mean everything. I want to know why the CIA is trying to kill you. I want to know about your past. I want to know about her." Sydney pointed at Tiffany, who was standing behind the two. Vaughn saw Tiffany smile at the jealous tone in Sydney's voice. Vaughn, himself, found it difficult to contain a pleasing smile. Smiling right now for whatever reason would probably only set Sydney off.

Sydney continued on her little tirade. "I want to know what really happened to you on that day everyone thought you'd died. I want to know everything."

Against his better judgment, Vaughn said challengingly, "And what if I don't? What are you going to do about it?"

Sydney stared at Vaughn with a strange look on her face. When she hadn't said anything after about twenty seconds, Vaughn started to panic. He really should learn to keep his mouth shut. Finally, Sydney came out of her stupor and advanced a step towards Vaughn. Vaughn, not knowing her intent, took a step backwards. He did not want to be too close to Sydney. That led to inappropriate actions and even more inappropriate thoughts.

When Sydney saw that Vaughn was matching her step for step, she stopped herself and tried to say as evenly as she could, "You want to know what I'll do to you, then stop moving away so that I can tell you."

Vaughn stopped and allowed Sydney to walk up to him. For a second, he had a brief flash of Sydney kicking his ass explode into his thoughts, but that thought was quickly replaced by the one that was telling him to keep his cool. Sydney got up to Vaughn, and before he knew what she was doing, she was whispering in his ear. Before Vaughn fully realized what she was actually saying, all he could concentrate on was how Sydney's warm breath on his skin made him feel.

But then everything that Sydney had said quickly sunk in, and he hurriedly backed away from her. He looked at her in amazement and saw a pleased smile on her face. Vaughn blushed and asked incredulously, "Are you serious?"

Sydney nodded her head and smiled smugly. Vaughn could only shake his head at the whole thing. "You do realize Sydney, that saying something like that is only going to motivate me to do the opposite of what you want just so that I can make you carry out your promise."

Now it was Sydney's turn to blush. Vaughn couldn't help but think how cute she looked. He quickly erased that thought from his mind and tried to concentrate on the important matter at hand. It was hard though. Sydney's words kept replaying themselves in his mind.

Thankfully, Tiffany was there to keep him on track. After seeing the direction their conversation was heading in, Tiffany interceded. "Alright! That's enough. You two are acting like a bunch of horny teenagers. I realize that's its been a month since you've seen each other, but dear Lord, please try to focus here."

Both Sydney and Vaughn got embarrassed at Tiffany's chastisement and pulled even further away from each other. Tiffany mumbled under her breath, "Thank god. You know the world is coming to an end when I have to provide the voice of reason."

Apparently Vaughn heard what she said and shot her a glare. He quickly refocused on Sydney though. Vaughn decided that it would be best for everyone if he just resigned himself to the fact that Sydney deserved to know what was going on, and that he was going to have to tell her.

"Alright Syd, I give up. You win." Vaughn couldn't help but share Sydney's huge grin when she heard he was giving in. "I think in order for this all to make sense you need to first hear about what happened that day my car crashed into that building. You see Syd, it all happened like this..."

  


Flashback-(Vaughn in the Wharehouse)

  


Vaughn stepped on a piece of broken glass, and he instantly froze as the cracking sound exploded throughout the room. The two kneeling men instantly perked up and swung around to face Vaughn. Vaughn leapt to his side and landed hard. So hard that his gun flew out of his hand. Vaughn swore and frantically searched the ground for his gun.

He was too late. The two men were standing right above him as his hand closed on the handle of his piece. Vaughn looked up at the two men and saw one of them raise his gun and point it at Vaughn's head.

Vaughn asked desperately, "Why are you doing this? Who are you?"

Vaughn's only response was the man above him pulling the trigger.

Vaughn shut his eyes and waited for the inevitable. When all he heard was a deafening, to his ears at least, click signifying that the assassin's gun was out of rounds, Vaughn was amazed. He had seen that happen in the movies, but he had never seen it happen in real life. Unfortunately, unlike the movies, there were two men with guns pointed at Vaughn's head instead of one and Vaughn knew that the second man's gun was not empty. Fate just wasn't that forgiving.

The second man aimed his weapon at Vaughn's head and was about to pull the trigger when a loud bang came from the door of the store room. Almost instantly after the shot, the first man who had tried to kill Vaughn crumpled to the ground in a heap. The second man spun around quickly to face the door. Unfortunately, as he was turning very quickly, his finger involuntarily twitched against the trigger and his gun went off.

The bullet hit Vaughn in his left shoulder, right below his clavicle, and continued moving through his body until it exited out through the other side. Vaughn let out a cry and contorted his face into a grimace of extreme pain. For some reason, at that precise moment, Vaughn started thinking on the old saying that a paper cut was the most extreme pain anyone could feel. Vaughn felt that he could safely debunk that opinion now.

The second assassin was not as lucky Vaughn. Despite the fact that he had more time to react than his partner had, he simply wasn't fast enough. Another loud bang exploded in the enclosed room and the second man fell to the ground.

Vaughn tried to ignore his pain and he quickly pried the second man's weapon from his hands. Whoever had saved his life would more than likely come into the store room, and while they may have saved him, that didn't necessarily mean they were friendly. Vaughn had to be prepared.

Vaughn backed himself up against a stack of crates and gripped the gun as tightly as he could with his right hand. He pointed the gun in the direction of the doorway and waited for whoever was out there to come in. He didn't have to wait long.

Vaughn saw a silhouette in the doorway move into the room. The silhouette spoke up, "Mikey? Are you alright Mikey? Its Tiffany." There was a worried tone in the woman's voice.

Tiffany? What the hell? Vaughn had no idea what Tiffany was doing here, but after just saving his life, he honestly didn't care that much. He let out a an audible sigh of relief, and let the gun fall limply out of his hands. He said weekly, "I'm over here Tiffany."

Vaughn heard scurrying feet and soon Tiffany's tall frame was standing over him. He heard her gasp, "Oh my god, they shot you." Tiffany paused and then got a curious look on her face, "Does it hurt?"

Vaughn looked at Tiffany like she was crazy. He gritted out, "Does it hurt? Are you fucking kidding me?"

Tiffany blushed. "Oh right. Stupid question." She stopped talking and studied Vaughn's wound. "It's too dark in here, I can't see it. We need to get you outside."

With Tiffany's help, Vaughn climbed to his feet, his teeth clenched together and left arm held tightly against his side. Tiffany moved Vaughn to just outside the doorway in the alley, where there was enough light to see the wound properly.

She said gently, "I'm going to have to take your shirt off and its going to hurt" Vaughn nodded his head stiffly and took several deep breaths.

Tiffany unbuttoned his shirt and pried it away from his body as gently as she could. Vaughn's breath exploded outward at the extreme pain the movement caused. After enough of his dress shirt was off his shoulder, Tiffany got a firm grip of the white T-shirt underneath and tore it away from his shoulder. Vaughn let out a small whimper. His wound was now exposed to the air.

Gritting through his teeth he said, "How does it look?"

Tiffany peered at the wound closely. She moved Vaughn's body away from the wall he was leaning against and checked out the back of his shoulder. When she gently set Vaughn back against the wall and faced him, she gave him a big smile. "It looks like its your lucky day Mikey. There's an exit hole and I don't think there are any bullet fragments lodged inside the wound. It looks like it missed your clavicle by about half an inch. It was a clean shot; a flesh wound."

Vaughn groaned out, "It sure as hell doesn't feel like a flesh wound."

Tiffany admonished him. "Oh stop being such a baby. I didn't complain this much when I got shot in Barcelona."

"You didn't complain this much because you were so hopped up on sodium pentothal that you wouldn't have known if your arm had been chopped off. Besides, you're a woman and everyone knows women handle pain better than men do." Vaughn said the last part as an attempt to make Tiffany smile. Tiffany had a great smile. It was in fact very similar to Sydney's dimpled grin. Maybe that was one of the reasons why he liked seeing Sydney smile so much. It reminded him of the woman in front of him.

Vaughn's comment succeeded in earning him a big grin from Tiffany. "Yer damn right Mikey, and don't ever forget that. Anyway, as I was trying to say until somebody who shall not be named started whining, we can't disinfect it and patch you up here, but we do need to stop the bleeding." 

Vaughn racked his brain for ideas and quickly came up with something that would probably temporarily fit what they were looking for. He explained his idea to Tiffany. "Use what's left of my shirt to wrap the wound and then use my tie to hold it in place."

Surprisingly, Tiffany made nary a comment and started out working. She efficiently made quick work of Vaughn's T-shirt, tearing it into strips and wrapping them around Vaughn's shoulder. To Vaughn's unending pride, he did not let out a single cry of pain throughout the whole ordeal. That is, until it came to the wrapping of the tie.

Tiffany had the tie wrapped around her patchwork of T-shirt strips and only needed to tighten it. "Ok, Mikey, I'm gonna do the tie now. This is going to really hurt so I'll try to do it as fast as possible, but I think you might want to bite down on something."

Vaughn took Tiffany's advice to heart and put a sizable chunk of his dress shirt into his mouth. "On the count of three. 1...2...3!" Tiffany tightened the knot and Vaughn let out a very loud moan, biting down hard on his shirt. His face got red from exertion and sweat started to form on his brow.

Finally after about ten seconds, Tiffany was done and she backed away to sit on her haunches. She took one look at Vaughn's red face and she instantly felt bad for making fun of him. She knew that he wouldn't hold it against her, but she felt bad all the same. 

Vaughn spit out his shirt and said, "Holy shit that hurt."

Tiffany smiled in what she hoped was in a comforting way and moved to help Vaughn stand. "We need to move Mikey. Its not safe here."

Vaughn nodded his head in acknowledgment, but disagreed with her on leaving. At least for the time being. "I agree with you completely on the not being safe part, but we can't leave yet. I need to know who those men are." Vaughn started to move back towards the store room, but he became dizzy and swayed precariously. Tiffany was at his side in an instant, and helped Vaughn walk the small distance back toward the store room.

As soon as they reentered the room, Vaughn heard a sickening gurgling sound. That was when Vaughn remembered that one of his assassins had been wounded and was not dead. "Over there. I think one of them is still alive."

Tiffany led Vaughn in the direction he was pointing in and they came upon one of the body armor wearing assassins. He was the man the two assassins had been standing over earlier when Vaughn had tried sneaking up on them.

As soon as Vaughn and Tiffany reached the prone man, Vaughn understood why the man was sounding the way he was. Despite the fact that he was wearing a black ski mask that covered his entire head, Vaughn could easily see that the man had been shot in the neck. His left hand was pressed firmly against the wound, but it was a futile gesture. There was already a large pool of blood forming underneath the man, and more was seeping through his gloved fingers every second. Vaughn couldn't help but feel sorry for the man. Dying like this was no way for any person to go.

Vaughn tentatively grabbed a hold of the man's mask and began to pull upwards. The man tried to stop Vaughn by hitting him with his right fist, but he was so weak that his blow had very little power behind it. Eventually Vaughn pulled the mask off, causing the man to lose even more blood as his hand had to be moved to remove the mask. As soon as the mask was off, the man quickly replaced his hand.

Vaughn tossed the mask off to the side and got his first look at one of his would be assassins. The man was around Vaughn's age, perhaps a little younger, with dark brown hair that was matted to his forehead with sweat. He had brown eyes that were widened in fear and pain. It was obvious to Vaughn that the man did not want to die, and he was trying to do everything possible to prevent it from happening. Vaughn moved his gaze away from the eyes to check out the rest of the man's face. He had an angular nose, thin lips that were slightly blue from lack of oxygen, and a prominent chin with a cleft very similar to his own. 

It was the chin that tipped Vaughn off. He had seen this man before. He searched his memory, trying to pinpoint the when and where, when it came to him so suddenly that he fell in utter shock. Tiffany was too slow to catch him and Vaughn fell to his knees.

"Vaughn are you alright? What's wrong?" Tiffany asked worriedly.

Vaughn looked up at Tiffany's concerned face with unabashed surprise and despair on his face. "I know this man." Vaughn said quietly. The enormity of the situation was starting to overwhelm him. He could not believe that this was actually happening to him. To think that his own people, the people he had dedicated his adult life to serving, were trying to kill him, made him feel so small and insignificant. It was as if his entire life meant absolutely nothing.

Tiffany responded to Vaughn's statement with as much surprise as he felt. "You do? How?"

Vaughn pointed an accusing finger at the dying man, who just happened to be staring at Vaughn with what looked like genuine guilt in his eyes. That gave Vaughn a brief pause. "I've seen him before. Two months ago, while planning an op for my agent I saw him back at headquarters." Vaughn looked into Tiffany's eyes. "He's CIA special ops and security. I remember because he was part of a special ops team we were planning to send in if my agent's mission went south."

Vaughn suddenly turned to the man and started questioning him intently. He asked angrily, "Why are you trying to kill me? Who ordered you to do this? Tell me!"

For whatever reason, the man answered. When he spoke, his voice was raspy and barely audible. And it took him several seconds in between fading breaths to talk. "Told...you had gone...rogue...and were a da...nger to CIA operational...security. We were ode...red to eliminate you...and make it look...like an accident."

Vaughn was feeling his control slipping. His entire life was flashing right before his eyes and it was quickly going down a drain. "Who ordered you? Who issued the order?"

The man's breath became even shallower and Vaughn could see the life draining from the man's eyes. When the man's eyes closed and it looked like he had slipped into unconsciousness, Vaughn slapped his face harshly. He had to get his answers. He just had to. His life depended on it.

After slapping the man a few times, his eyes reopened and he attempted to concentrate on Vaughn, but it was obvious he was rapidly losing the ability to stay cogent. Vaughn repeated his demand slowly and forcefully so that the other man would be able to understand, "Tell me who issued the order!"

The man responded breathlessly, "The order...came...from...the Director of Operations."

Vaughn needed more information. "Did it come from the director himself or from somebody in his department?"

"Came...through Deputy Director D-D-Devlin." The man barely got out.

The shit kept hitting the fan. Devlin had ordered the hit? Vaughn could not believe that. He had just come from Devlin's office and he had shown no indication that he wanted him dead. Sure they had argued, but they always argued when it came to Project Sally. Obviously things were more complicated than Vaughn had ever imagined.

Vaughn was so deep in his thoughts that he almost missed the man speaking. In almost a pleading tone, he said, "S-s-sorry. Only following...orders." In a whisper he said, "I'm sorry." And then, the man's eyes closed and he soon stopped breathing soon thereafter. He was dead.

Vaughn shook his head in disbelief. "This doesn't make any sense. Why would Devlin want to kill me? He's the one who told me about the team getting murdered and he said he was trying to put me back on the case. Something doesn't add up here." 

Tiffany decided to play devil's advocate. "Why not? We both know how much you and Devlin have disagreed in the past. And we have both experienced the pain of a CIA cover up. Is it such a stretch to think that the CIA would be trying to kill us in order to keep us quiet?"

Vaughn shook his head vehemently in disagreement. "CIA security I can believe, but not Devlin. I've known him for over ten years and he was a friend of my father. I can't believe that he would try to kill me."

"Why not Mikey? Devlin is a spook. Loyalty don't mean squat to them. The secret comes first."

Vaughn looked at Tiffany funny. "Aren't we spooks too Tif?"

Tiffany waved her hand dismissivally, "Nah. We're spies, not spooks. There's a big difference. Spies look to uncover information while spooks look to cover it up."

Vaughn just laughed. "I'll take your word for it."

Vaughn looked over at the dead man he was sitting next too and suddenly felt an intense desire to move as far away from him as possible. He struggled to his feet and started to walk towards the doorway. He almost lost his balance but he recovered before he fell. When Tiffany moved to help him, he shook her off. If Sydney could escape from a heavily guarded facility in Taipei with a gunshot wound in her shoulder, then surely he should be able to walk on his own. He wasn't that much of a wuss.

Vaughn smiled slightly when he heard Tiffany mutter disgustedly behind him, "Men!"

After what seemed like hours, Vaughn finally reached the stability of the alley wall and he leaned against it with a contented sigh. Tiffany followed him and walked to in front of him. She had a 'what do we do now' look on her face. 

It didn't surprise Vaughn that she was depending on him for direction. Tiffany had always deferred to him in the past, and obviously nothing had changed. Vaughn decided to take charge. It would keep his mind off his problems with the CIA and it would help him deal. He had the immediate problem of worrying about covering everything that had happened here up. The CIA could not know he was still alive.

Vaughn started explaining his plan. He was flying on the seat of his pants so his brain was running a million miles a second. "Ok Tif, first things first. The CIA can't know I'm still alive. If they do, they'll come after me. Unfortunately, they can't know their little hit squad failed because that would tip them off all the same." Vaughn paused and thought on an idea he had forming. "That guy said that they were going to make my death look like an accident, so that's what we're going to do. We'll take one of the dead CIA guys and put him in my car and then blow it up. We'll make it look like my car crashed and then exploded."

Tiffany was nodding her head in rapt attention. Tiffany knew that since Vaughn was injured she would be doing most of the work so she needed to pay close attention. When it came to business, Tiffany's happy go-lucky attitude went the way of the dodo. 

Vaughn got a contemplated look on his face. "We'll have to put all my i.d. and belongings in the car to make it look like its me. It probably won't fool them for more than a few days but at least it'll buy us some time." 

Vaughn stopped and looked out the alley to the black Suburban parked on the other side of his crashed car. Vaughn turned to Tiffany said, "We'll load up the bodies of the other three agents and put them in their car. Then we'll take the car and dump it somewhere where nobody we'll find it for awhile. CIA security will wonder where they are, but without any direct confirmation from the team they sent after me, they'll never know for sure what really happened. That should buy us some time as well."

Tiffany started making a mental checklist of everything Vaughn was saying. She didn't want to miss anything and screw up. She would never be able to live with herself if she caused Vaughn to die because of her incompetence. Sure, her life was on the line too, but she was more worried about Vaughn.

Vaughn stood up and away from the wall. "We better get to work. The police haven't come yet, but I'm sure they're bound to show up eventually."

"You know, I'm kind of surprised that they haven't shown up already. What with your big car chase and then your reenactment of the gunfight at the OK Corral, I would of thought they would have been here by now."

"Let's not look a gift horse in the mouth Tif. And you saw my car chase?" Vaughn asked surprised.

Tiffany grinned. "Sure did. I was following you, have been following you since you left your apartment this morning. You should pay more attention Mikey. Although I must admit that that was some fancy drivin' you did."

Vaughn grimaced at the knowledge that Tiffany had been following him and he didn't he even notice. Was he getting sloppy or had he finally reached his peak? He wanted to tell Tiffany that he had had a really bad night and that was why he hadn't noticed her, but that was a cop out and he knew it. Besides, the excuse didn't explain his later lapses.

Tiffany saw the look on Vaughn's face and immediately felt sorry for him. "Hey Mikey, don't feel bad. Everyone has a bad day every once in a while." Tiffany smiled hugely. "Look on the bright side. Because you were so easy to follow, I was able to follow you here and save your life. Not only that, but we get the chance to catch up on old times again."

"About that. What the hell are you doing here?"

"I was wonderin' when you were going to get to that. I'm kinda surprised it took you this long to ask. As I think you know, someone is or has taken out all of our team. I was tipped off that they were coming for me, so I hightailed it out of Dodge so to speak. I went to Krugar to warn him that somebody was offing the members of Project Sally, but I was too late. I had been surveiling his place and was just about to make contact with him when a car pulled up in front of his house and gunned him down just as he was walkin' out his front door. It was horrible Michael. They killed him in front of his own house."

Tiffany had to stop because she was starting to cry. Krugar and she had almost been as close as her and Vaughn. She regained control of her emotions and continued on. "After that, I knew that I just had to find you. I contacted some people in the Agency who owed me some favors and they told me where you were. I got here as fast as I could, but like with Krugar, when I saw that car force you off the road, I thought I was too late. I was determined not to let them get you."

Tiffany was really starting to lose it now. Vaughn wrapped his one good arm around Tiffany and pulled her in close to her body. "Hey Tif its ok. I'm alright. You didn't fail ok. You saved me."

Tiffany looked up at Vaughn with her big brown eyes and smiled faintly. Vaughn gently kissed her on her forehead and Tiffany reluctantly broke away from Vaughn. When she did, she blushed at the way she was acting. She wiped her eyes and said, "Sorry. I can't believe I'm crying like this."

"It's alright Tif. Everyone deserves to vent every once in awhile." Vaughn said understandingly.

"Yeah, but I got a reputation to uphold. If the others saw me acting like this, they'd never let me hear the end of it. They'd be calling me soft and all girlish."

Vaughn looked at Tiffany incredulously, "What do you mean? You're the most girly girl I know."

Tiffany finally dried her eyes and smiled at Vaughn indulgently. "That's only with the people I trust Mikey. With everyone else, I appear the way they want me to appear. And since you're the only person I trust, noone else sees the real me."

Vaughn was incredibly touched by Tiffany's words. When he had last seen Tiffany, over four years ago, they had not left things in a good way. Words had been said and they had parted amicably, but with very little of the old feelings that had been between them. It was a testament to their relationship that Tiffany could still say she trusted him more than any other person after a separation of four years.

"So, you don't hold what happened with your sister against me anymore do you?" Vaughn had to ask.

Tiffany was silent for a few seconds before answering. When she did, her face was open and honest. "Nah. I realized after I got some space from the whole situation that I totally overreacted. I understand now that what happened between you and my sister was between you and my sister and that I shouldn't feel slighted that things didn't work out between the two of you."

As an afterthought, Tiffany added, "You just have to understand Mikey, that back then, I practically idolized you. I wanted so badly to be a part of your family and I thought you being with my sister would be the best way to go about getting that. So when you and my sister broke up, I was devastated and I took it out on you. I didn't realize what I was doing until it was too late."

Vaughn stared at Tiffany dumbly. "Uh...wow. I didn't know you felt like that."

Tiffany looked embarrassed. "Well, now you do."

"You know Tif, your sister and I didn't have to be together for me to consider you a part of my family. You already were, long before I ever met your sister."

Tiffany grinned. Vaughn grinned back and then let out a laugh. "Feel free to keep idolizing me though."

Tiffany playfully smacked Vaughn on his good arm. They shared a good moment, but both quickly sobered. Vaughn was reluctant to get back to the matter at hand, but they needed to work quickly. "We should probably get to work. We don't have much time."

Tiffany nodded her head and moved to the store room. "You get the car ready and I'll move the men."

Vaughn groaned because he was going to have to leave his wall, but he quickly put his pain to the side and thought about how he was going to rig his car to explode.

  


End flashback-

  


"...and that's what happened." Vaughn finished telling his story. He couldn't help but chuckle softly at the fascinated look on Sydney's face.

"Wow. I had no idea." Sydney said awed.

Vaughn just shrugged his shoulders. What more could he do?

Sydney suddenly changed from being fascinated to being worried. "Wait, you said you were shot. Are you alright?"

Vaughn could not describe how happy it made him to see how worried she was. He assured her, "I'm ok Syd. After we finished at the accident site, Tiffany and I found a hotel and she cleaned my shoulder. It's almost completely healed."

Sydney let out a breath she hadn't even realized she was holding and smiled at Vaughn in relief. "Thank god."

Sydney turned around to talk to Tiffany. She wanted to thank her for saving Vaughn's life, but to her surprise, Tiffany was nowhere to be seen. She turned around to look at Vaughn and asked, "Where did your friend go?"

"She went to get the car."

Sydney panicked. He was leaving? He couldn't leave, not now, maybe not ever if she got her way. There were still so many questions she needed answering. "What? You can't leave! You just got here and there's so many questions I still need to ask."

Vaughn shifted impatiently. "Like what Syd?"

There were so many that Sydney was having a hard time picking one. "What about the people who said they saw you crash. There were witnesses Vaughn."

"Oh that? Tiffany found some random guy off the street and persuaded him to lie for us. Tiffany can be quite persuasive, so it wasn't that hard."

Sydney did not like hearing that. Despite how grateful she was to the woman for saving Vaughn's life, she did not like seeing the easy rapport she had with her handler. She did not like hearing anything positive about the woman period. It was irrational and unreasonable to think that, but she couldn't help but feel a little possessive of Vaughn, especially after thinking that he had been dead for the last month. Strangely enough, she felt more threatened by Tiffany than she did Alice. She had never seen Vaughn act as naturally and as freely as he did when he was around his friend.

Sydney still had questions though. "But what about..." 

Sydney never finished because Vaughn cut her off. "Look Sydney, I don't mean to be short with you, but I don't have time to answer all your questions right now. I need to ask you something important."

Sydney shut up immediately. "Ok Vaughn."

Vaughn smiled in thanks at her accepting his need for expediency. "This might sound like a stupid question Syd, considering our history, but I need to ask it." Vaughn paused. "Do you trust me Sydney?"

Sydney seemed affronted. "What? Of course I do. I trust you more than anybody else. How can you even ask that question?"

"I'm sorry Syd, but I need to be absolutely sure."

"Why?"

"Because I need to ask for your help to do something that I shouldn't get you involved in. Its dangerous and all three of us could be killed. But you're the only person I can trust to help me."

Sydney was resolute when she responded, "Whatever you need Vaughn, I'll do it. You have done so much for me that it is only fair that I return the favor. Besides, after Taipei, how can I refuse?"

Vaughn was amazed. "Just like that? You don't even know what I'm going to ask you to do yet."

Sydney shrugged her shoulders. "It doesn't matter Vaughn." Sydney paused and then said worriedly, "Uh...what are you planning on doing?" 

Vaughn laughed, but then quickly drew serious. "I need your help in retrieving some files. Files that will help me figure out who exactly is trying to kill me and why. I have my suspicions, but until I get some actual proof, I have no leverage."

There was more to the whole thing than Vaughn was telling her. Sydney asked, "Where are the files Vaughn?"

"There are two locations that contain the necessary files I'm looking for. Unfortunately, one of those locations is at Langley, and I'm not going to even bother to tell you how impossible it would be to retrieve them there. The other place, however, is much more feasible."

Sydney interrupted him, "I think I see where you're going with this. All I can say is: what if you're wrong."

"If I'm wrong then I won't be any more screwed than I already am, so I think its worth the risk. Besides, I need to know. I need to know if Devlin has really sold me out. With his files, I should be able to draw out the people trying to kill me and expose them. They are the only insurance that I have." Vaughn reasoned to Sydney. He really needed her to get on board his plan.

"What are these files Vaughn and why are they so important?" Sydney asked.

Vaughn sighed. "They are the operational records for a special CIA project I used to be a part of over four years ago. It was shut down and the files were sealed."

Now Sydney was curious. Vaughn was actually talking about his past. "Why was it shut down Vaughn?"

"Can we not discuss this right now?" Vaughn tried to avoid the question. This was what he had been dreading. Vaughn asked pleadingly.

Sydney was adamant about finding out what Vaughn was hiding. She had thought that Vaughn had never lied to her before, but after finding out about Alice, and now this, she was starting to feel insecure about their relationship. She needed Vaughn to be completely honest with her if she was going to continue being honest with him. He was supposed to be the one person she could trust without reservation, and here she was finding out that he was almost like a different person.

"No Vaughn. You promised me that you would tell me everything." Sydney stopped and then looked at Vaughn with a pained look on her face. "You are supposed to be the one person I can count on to never lie to me. How do you expect me to feel when I find out you have this past that you've never even tried to tell me about?"

Vaughn was getting emotional. "Damnit Sydney, you know you can always trust me. Just because I haven't told you about my past doesn't me I've been lying to you."

"Then why won't you tell me?"

Vaughn was grasping at straws. "I haven't told you anything because its classified."

Sydney shook her head and bored into Vaughn's eyes. Her stare was so intense that Vaughn had to lower his head to avoid looking at her. "If your asking me to get involved then I think I have a right to know about everything I'm getting involved in."

Vaughn sighed. Sydney, of course, was right. She was always right. He didn't know why he even bothered. It was time to face the inevitable. With his head down low and his eyes focused on his feet, he resigned himself to his fate. He didn't know how Sydney was going to take what he was going to tell her. Would she be understanding? Would she avoid him? Would she think he was a bad person? All these thoughts ran rampart through Vaughn's mind.

If he was going to tell her, he would at least look her in the eye when he did it. He raised his head and focused intently on Sydney's face.

Vaughn spoke softly, "The reason the project was shut down was because their was a mole, a double agent. One of the members of our team was feeding classified information to K-Directorate and the Russian FSB."

An amused smile appeared on Sydney's face and she said, "A mole huh?" The irony of Vaughn's statement was not lost on either of them.

Vaughn, however, found no humor in the situation and his face stayed in its somber visage. "Eventually, she got complacent and sloppy, and I finally realized what was going on." Vaughn stopped.

Sydney used the break in conversation to ask, "So what happened to her? Did she get arrested or something?"

Vaughn shook his head sadly. "No she wasn't arrested. After we found out what she was doing, I was left with no choice. I killed her Sydney."

  
  
  


To be continued.....................................

P.S. Thanks to everyone for the kind and thoughtful reviews everyone has been leaving. They're great and they keep piling on the encouragement. Don't ever stop. I have noticed that right now, as it stands, this story equals the most reviews I have ever gotten for a story. I would definitely like that to change. I can not think of another group of fans that I would rather have put me over that mark. In fact, I would be eternally grateful to everyone, if by the next three chapters, I go over 100. I know it's a lot to ask, but if it happened, it would totally kick ass.

P.P.S. Now on to the responses I got for my questions. Thanks everyone. I'm glad everyone seemed to like Tiffany. That's good because I have decided to make her a permanent fixture of this story. I also wanted to say thanks for answering my survey question. Which reminds me, I have another question. Of the people you know who watch Alias, how many are female. I'm looking for a percentage here.


	9. Chapter 9

Title: Angel Dark

Author: DOKChairman

Time: No particular time frame. Assume everything that has happened up to Counteragent is fair game.

Disclaimer: I do not own Alias. If I did, Dixon would actually appear in an episode this season, Marshall would be in practically every scene (that guy cracks me up so much), Sydney and Vaughn would at the very least admit that they have feelings for each other, and most importantly of all, Sydney would wear even less clothes than she usually does. Unfortunately for my bank account, J.J. Abrams, Bad Robot Productions, and ABC own Alias. I own nothing so don't sue me.

Pairing: This will be a Sydney/Vaughn piece. As if there's anything else.

Author's Note: After receiving some comments, I feel compelled to write this. It was never my intention to make anyone feel uncomfortable by asking if you were a girl or not. I was merely trying to get a bead on my audience. As more than a few people have pointed out, and this was a fact I was already pretty confident of being true beforehand, most of the Alias fanfic writers, readers, and all around general viewers are female. If you haven't figured it out by now, I'm a guy. So as you can see, I'm in the minority here. But's that's okay because I think Alias is a great show. Hell all shows with strong female leads are worth watching. Buffy the Vampire Slayer happens to be one of my all-time favorite shows, and it pretty much doesn't get anymore pro-female empowerment than that.

Now as you can see, I identify with Vaughn. Mainly because he's a guy, and because only a brilliant man, or an incredibly dumb one, would claim to completely identify with and understand the female mind. I am neither. I have a totally straight, completely non-gay, man crush on Michael Vartan. He's so dreamy! Ohhh, sorry, transferring my girlfriend on that one. Anyway, the point of this round about explanation is this: don't hate me! I'm sorry and if people want me to stop asking questions, just tell me and I'll stop quicker than you can say Jennifer Garner deserves to win the Golden Globe! Oh, and Sydney and Vaughn forever. *Nods head and says, "There, that should show them I'm on their side."* 

Warning!!: There is some darker than normal imagery in this chapter and you should be forewarned. You will see a side of Tiffany that has not been shown, and it may change how you view her character. Oh, and there is a surprise/cliffhanger done in true Alias fashion. Once you read it, I ask that you give me the benefit of the doubt before passing judgment.

Tiffany pressed her hands even deeper into the pockets of her sweatshirt. It was cold, and since they were only a few hundred feet from the Pacific Ocean, the pier was foggy and wet. The sweatshirt didn't offer much in the way of protection against the chill, but it did keep her hands warm. That was all that really mattered.

Tiffany fingered the keys of her car as she continued walking briskly toward her parked car. They had parked the car almost half a mile away and Tiffany still had a ways to go. Tiffany had argued that parking the car so far away would leave them without a means of escape, but Vaughn had pointed out that having the car close by would also tip someone off that something was going on. Avoiding detection was their primary concern.

Tiffany had not given up easily, but she had eventually acquiesced to Vaughn's plan. Of course, it was she who had to be the one to walk the half mile to get the car. In the mind numbing cold no less. Typical of most Michael Vaughn plans. He does all the thinking while she does all the working.

She knew she really needed to stop giving in so easily to Michael. She knew that it made her look like she didn't know how to look after herself. Which was ironic because in reality, it was Michael who really needed looking after.

Unfortunately, her deferring to Michael was a habit she had picked up years ago. Almost from the first moment she met him. She had been so young, only eighteen at the time, and he had been so much older, that she unconsciously did what he said. It didn't help matters that he had always been in a position of authority over her. 

She hadn't been lying when she had told him that she used to idolize him. To be honest, she still did. Michael Vaughn had been the consummate professional. He was smart, thorough, tough when he had to be, likable when he wanted to be, and he always did what was right. That was what made him rise high enough in the ranks to run his own op at the ripe old age of 27. Tiffany couldn't help but admire him.

She knew she hadn't been the only one. Everyone else on the team did as well. Well, everyone except for Elisa...Tiffany shook her head, trying to clear that thought from her head. That was not something she wanted to think about. She quickly went back to her previous thoughts.

It still impressed her, even after all this time, that Michael had garnered so much respect and admiration so early in life. It made her feel better about herself knowing that she wasn't the only one so easily taken in by Michael's charm. If the few brief glimpses she had seen of Michael and Sydney Bristow together were any indication, it was pretty clear that Michael's agent was already under his thrall.

That thought made her smile. It was cute, Tiffany thought, that Sydney had been jealous of her. If Michael would only take the rule book shoved up his ass out of the way, she knew the two of them would have probably made a nice couple. Although, Tiffany admitted to herself, she wouldn't mind if Sydney stayed single. Michael's agent was quite the hottie.

But no, that was a thought for another time. Tiffany sighed, pitying herself. Why the hell did it have to be so cold? She wanted to scream into the night. That thought quickly died though. She might as well announce to the whole city of L.A. that nefarious goings on were happening at the pier. Maybe a neon sign, like the ones in Las Vegas. For some reason that thought actually made her giggle. Out loud.

Tiffany quickly scolded herself. She could be such a flake sometimes. She just praised god that her hair wasn't blonde.

Tiffany stopped thinking long enough to make a quick scan of her surroundings. As far as she could tell, the pier was still empty. That was good because she didn't feel like explaining why she was there so late at night. Of course, she knew, any other person up and about would need a good reason for being there as well. It was just best for everyone if contact with other human beings was avoided as much as possible.

Tiffany sighed again and watched the breath exhaling out of her mouth quickly turn to steam. Tiffany was extremely tempted to try and make shapes with her breath, but the thought quickly died with a flash of embarrassment. Sometimes she wondered if she had ever grown out of her teenage years. She was almost 27 for Christ's sake. These were not the kind of thoughts she was supposed to have.

She was supposed to be thinking about politics, or work, or other such important things. Hell, she knew she should be thinking about who was trying to kill her, but she just didn't feel like it. Thinking was Michael's department. And while she knew she was not a stupid woman, far from it she knew, she preferred to think about mundane things. Not strategy and tactics. She was a shoot first and ask questions later kind of woman.

That thought had served her very well in the past, and she had no intention of changing now. She could name countless times where little or no thinking had saved her life while she had been in the field. Sometimes a quick reaction was all that separated one from a warm bed and a pine box.

If it hadn't been for the barely audible scuffle of shoe against pavement coming from behind her, Tiffany would have never made it to her much bemoaned car. Instead, the scuffle threw her experienced senses into high gear, and she immediately dropped to the ground. The bullet whizzed right over her, at about chest level, and impacted against the wall of one of the pier's many game booths.

Tiffany compacted her body and rolled to her left where she had remembered a concrete pylon. She crawled behind the thick pillar and calmed herself, holding her breath. Minimizing her own noise production, she carefully listened to the area around her. It was obvious from the amount of noise the person was making that he or she had given up all pretenses of sneaking up on her.

Despite the direness of her situation, Tiffany couldn't help but berate herself for letting someone get the drop on her. She had gotten sloppy, and now some psycho was trying to kill her. Not only that, she thought depressingly, but if something happened to her, there would be no one to warn Michael until it was too late. She was not about to let that happen. Not only did she want to live, but she wasn't about to fail Michael like she had failed Krugar.

Tiffany risked sticking her head above the pylon to get a look at her surroundings. She belatedly realized that she was only a few hundred feet from where she had parked her car. If she could only get to the car, she could escape and rush to Michael. Unfortunately, any attempt to run would more than likely get her a bullet in the back.

She tried scanning the area for her attacker, but all she saw was black. And fog. That damn fog was giving her attacker a natural cover. The only thing she had going for her was that she could hear the sound of her attacker's movements, but even that wasn't very helpful on account of the noise of the ocean.

Tiffany sighed and reached into the pocket of her jogging pants. She quickly pulled out her gun, checked to make sure it was loaded and there was a round in the chamber, and prepared herself to move. She was going to have to do this the hard way.

That thought made her briefly hesitate. If she used her gun, there would be no more pretending that nothing was going on at the pier. The sound of a gunshot would carry for miles, and would surely alert any friends her attacker might have. The upside was that Michael would know something was wrong, and he would immediately put their contingency plan into action. Of course that meant she would be on her own, but that was fine with her. She loved Michael dearly, but he wasn't exactly the best field agent in the world.

Tiffany moved until she was sitting on her haunches, and flexed the muscles of her calves. She had to move fast and keep low to the ground. Tiffany took three deep breaths and felt an inner calm settle over her. It had been four years since she had to do something like this, not counting the time where she had saved Vaughn's life, and it really did feel like riding a bike. The old instincts just came back to her as if they had never left. The adrenaline was pumping and she was settling into the Zone as she liked to call it.

Tiffany exploded in a flurry of movement. She could hear the sound of a silenced bullet dig into the pavement behind her, and she moved even faster. As she ran, she turned her head to the side, hoping that she would get lucky and actually see her attacker. Unfortunately, as like before, she had no such luck.

She had ran about forty feet, when she suddenly felt compelled to stop and dive to her right. She heard the sound of two bullets hit the ground where she had been standing, and as she came out of her dive, she brought her gun up. She tracked the sound of the incoming bullets as well as she could, and finally fired in the direction of where she assumed her attacker was. 

The sound of her gunshot was almost deafening to her ears, destroying the relatively calmness of the night. Thankfully, she had remember to close her eyes before she fired so as not to ruin her night vision. 

Tiffany stilled her body and strained her senses to their maximum. She closed her eyes and focused solely on her hearing. She heard the sound of a rock flying across the ground, and she spun to her right and fired. Tiffany heard running feet and guessed that her shot had gotten too close for her attacker's comfort. Tiffany tracked along the person's path and fired twice. Both shots missed, and the running feet quickened in pace.

Tiffany exploded out of her crouch and took off running at full speed in the direction of her attacker. After only a few seconds, Tiffany could just make out a black-clothed body running in front of her. From what she could see, the person looked like a man, and there was a gun hanging loosely at the man's side. Unfortunately, the man was at least fifty feet away, and the fog made it difficult to get a clear shot.

Tiffany put on a burst of speed, and she started to gain on the running man. The man turned his head to look behind him, saw Tiffany, and extended his gun arm behind him as he ran. The man fired randomly, hoping to get lucky, but his shots were too wild to actually hit Tiffany.

The man's gun ran out of rounds, and he brought the gun in front of his body to change the clip. Tiffany heard the sound of the discarded metal magazine falling on the ground, and she brought her own gun up. This was her chance. Tiffany abruptly stopped, made her body as stiff as a board, grasped her gun with both hands, aimed as best she could and fired twice.

The gun bucked in her hands, and the two bullets set out on their path of destruction. The first bullet went wild, missing the man by inches, the second bullet however, hit the running man in his lower right back. The man let out a cry of surprise and pain, and that was all the indication Tiffany needed.

She started running again, and after about three seconds, came upon her attacker who was writhing on the ground in intense pain. When the man saw her, he brought his gun out from beneath his body and tried to shoot her. Tiffany saw the move and viciously kicked the gun out of the man's hand, breaking one of his fingers in the process.

The man yelped and brought his injured hand close to his body, holding it tight against his chest. He was too busy to try anything else, as his other hand was busy trying to stop the blood flowing out of his body from the bullet wound in his back.

Tiffany, meanwhile, picked up her attacker's gun and stuck it in the waistband of her pants. She did a quick search of the man's body, and after determining he was clean, got down on one knee next to him and started interrogating him.

She jammed the end of her gun into the base of the man's throat and started asking questions. "Who are you?"

The man gulped, but stayed quiet. Tiffany pressed the gun even harder into the man, and his face contorted in pain. Menacingly, Tiffany said, "Tell me what I want to know, or I'll leave and let you bleed to death all alone on this pier. Now I repeat, who are you?"

Tiffany meant what she said and she tried to convey her sincerity through her words and actions. Her eyes bored into the man, searching for any kind of clue. 

When the man still didn't say anything, Tiffany punched the man as hard as she could where he had been shot. The man's breath exploded out of his mouth and his eyes rolled upward. He would have slipped into unconsciousness if Tiffany hadn't slapped his face to keep him aware.

The man opened his mouth and looked about to say something, when he suddenly changed his mind and clamped his jaw shut. To put it mildly, Tiffany was not pleased. Unlike some of her former colleagues back at the CIA, Tiffany had absolutely no qualms getting her hands dirty. Especially not when someone was trying to kill her.

In a low and deadly calm voice, Tiffany said, "I am only going to ask you one more time to tell me who you are. If you don't tell me, I will kill you. Do you understand?"

The man's eyes closed briefly and he nodded his head. But he didn't say anything. Tiffany sighed and stood up. The man's eyes opened and stared back up at Tiffany defiantly. Tiffany only shook her head and stared down at the prone man before her.

In all honesty, she had no desire to kill the man. But she had learned long ago, that in the kind of life she lived, leaving one's enemies alive was a luxury she could not afford. It was best to deal with them swiftly and quietly. If she just left him there, there was always the chance that his friends would pick him up and then not only would they have information about her, but she would have to contend with yet another assassin once the man was healed.

She knew Michael would probably not approve, but he would understand and that was all she really expected. After spending the last month with him, she knew firsthand that Michael still had dreams of that night in Prague. The night where they had all found out about Elisa...

Tiffany once again pushed all thoughts of that painful night away. Now was not the time. Tiffany looked down one last time at the still defiant man and pulled the trigger. The bullet hit the man in the middle of his forehead and he died instantly. Tiffany felt disgusted at herself and the now dead man, but at least she could take some consolation in the fact that if nobody had found him, he would have more than likely died soon anyways. The wound in his back was right where his kidney was and there was a good chance there had been massive damage to his internal organs.

It wasn't much consolation, she knew, but it was all she had. She took one last look at the man who had tried to kill her, and turned around and started jogging towards her parked car. She had to leave. There was no telling whether or not her attacker had friends, and she had no intention to wait and find out. Plus, Michael had almost certainly heard her gunshots and he would already be on the move. She wanted to get to their meeting place as soon as possible so that he wouldn't worry.

She was only about ten feet away from her car when she heard the clicking sound of a gun being cocked, and then half a second later the, the silent retort of a gun being fired. Tiffany felt a burning sensation shoot up from her right leg, and she suddenly lost all ability to place any weight on the limb. Tiffany collapsed to the ground and let out an explosion of air. She immediately brought her gun up and started firing randomly into the air. 

Her gun quickly ran out of rounds, and she dropped it on the ground. She had more ammo for it, but she knew it would take too long to reload, so instead she reached for her waistband where she had stashed her other gun. She had it about halfway out of her pants when she suddenly saw two men walk up to her. Both men had guns pointed at her and she reluctantly let go of the gun.

When the man on the right saw her stop reaching for the gun, he smiled and said, "Smart move Agent Greene. I want you to carefully take the gun out and throw it toward me. Barrel first."

Tiffany glared at the man and did as he asked. "Good, now the other one Agent Greene. I know its not loaded, but we don't want you getting any ideas."

Tiffany sighed and picked her empty gun off the ground and threw it at the man. She wasn't gentle and the gun hit the man on the left hard in the shin. The man glared at her and Tiffany smiled innocently back. 

Now that Tiffany was unarmed, the man on the right resumed talking. "Where is Agent Vaughn?"

Tiffany laughed and said, "Do you actually think I'm going to tell you? If you do then you're stupider than you look."

The man on the right frowned and the man on the left kicked Tiffany hard in the side. Tiffany winced and grabbed her side, but she was not deterred from keeping quiet.

Tiffany couldn't help but chuckle lightly at the irony of her situation. Just seconds ago she had been in this exact same situation, with the roles reversed, and she just found it amusing. Karma really was a bitch. 

The man on the right attempted to reason with Tiffany. "Look, we don't care about you. As much as you know, its nothing compared to how much Agent Vaughn knows. We would be willing to let you go if you tell us where we can find Vaughn."

Tiffany glared defiantly at the men. "Go to hell jackass. If you know so much about us, then you must know that I won't turn on Vaughn. So you might as well kill me now and stop wasting my time."

"Don't worry, the temptation to do just that is growing with every passing second. However, the potential information you contain is far too important to just kill you. You could save us a lot of time and money if you just tell us where Vaughn is."

"Are you two fucking moron's or something? I said I'm not talking, so stop trying to convince me otherwise. Seriously guys, give it a rest." Tiffany's voice was full of venom and contempt.

The man on the left kicked Tiffany again, and Tiffany thought she heard one of her ribs crack. The wind was temporarily knocked out of her, and she clamped her mouth shut to stop any cries of pain from escaping. But she did not talk. Her loyalty to Vaughn outweighed even her own sense of self-preservation. Not that she believed for a second that they would actually let her live if she did turn. She wasn't a complete idiot to think that.

The man on the right sighed and said, "If that's how you feel, then you are of no use to us. Goodbye Agent Greene."

The man would have pulled the trigger if not for the blinding headlights of a car suddenly sweeping over his body. Both men cried in surprise and immediately shielded themselves from the intense light. Tiffany used the opportunity to begin crawling away as fast as she could.

She looked up from the ground to see the car speeding towards the three of them, and she heard the two men start firing in the direction of the oncoming car. Tiffany heard glass breaking, and bullets pinging against metal, but the car kept on coming. The car was aimed directly at the two men, and it barreled down on them. The two men dived in opposite directions, scattering.

The car threw itself into reverse and skidded to a screeching halt between Tiffany and her two attackers. Once the car was stopped, the passenger door flew open and light from inside the car cascaded over Tiffany's body.

Tiffany heard a man's voice from inside the car shout to her, "Come on! Get in the damn car!"

For some reason, the man's voice sounded very familiar. Tiffany couldn't quite place it, but it was right on the tip of her mind. Tiffany wasn't exactly caring who the man was at that the time, and she hurriedly climbed to her feet. She gritted her teeth and endured the incredible pain it caused to walk on her injured leg.

It wasn't until she was at the door that she got her first look at her savior, and when she did, she collapsed to the ground in surprise. The man saw her fall and shot her a disapproving look. "Get you ass in the car Tif! We don't have time for this shit!"

Tiffany shook off her dizzy spell and used the car to climb back to her feet. She dived into the car and sprawled herself across the passenger seat. As soon as most of her body was in the car, the man threw the car into high gear and took off. It was good timing, because the two men outside had recovered enough to resume firing at the car. Part of the front windshield exploded above Tiffany and the glass came raining down on top of her.

Tiffany shook the glass off and righted herself on the seat. Once she was situated properly, she looked at the driver of the car in wide eyed astonishment. The man saw the look she was giving him and shot a cocky grin in her direction. Jokingly he said, "What? Do I have something in my teeth?"

Tiffany was speechless. That quickly changed, however, after the lame joke. Tiffany smacked the man on the arm, none too gently, and said, "You never could tell a joke Kyle."

  


P.S. As some people have pointed out, the scene where Sydney whispers in Vaughn's ear in the last chapter is cheesy and cliched, and I have no excuse for the crappiness of that stuff. Wait, that's not true, I do have an excuse. It was my girlfriend's fault. She made me write that stuff, don't ask me how because I don't really remember (I think there was a lot of alcohol involved), and before I understood what I was doing, I had put that scene in the story. As I said before, I was really busy when writing the last chapter, so I didn't have the chance to change anything before I posted. If my girlfriend wasn't such a hardcore S/V'er I wouldn't have to worry about this stuff. If I was easily paranoid, I'd worry that she likes Michael Vartan more than me. Oh who am I kidding, I'd dump me for Michael Vartan.

P.S. I'm sorry for the long post above, but I tend to ramble when I talk to strangers. It's a bad habit I picked up in my high school gambling class...uh I mean my gaming class. Wait, I mean my computer class. Yeah, that's what I'm looking for. I swear I must have made over $400 my senior year. Those were the days. That was where I got my handle, but that's a story for another time. 

P.S. Sorry again. Thanks for the great feedback. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like I'll reach 100 by my set deadline, but that's ok. As usual, read and review. Your input is all that matters. Thank you all. Oh, and in case I don't see you all beforehand (you know what I mean), happy new year.


	10. Chapter 10

Title: Angel Dark

Author: DOKChairman

Time: No particular time frame. Assume everything that has happened up to Counteragent is fair game.

Disclaimer: I do not own Alias. If I did, Dixon would actually appear in an episode this season, Marshall would be in practically every scene (that guy cracks me up so much), Sydney and Vaughn would at the very least admit that they have feelings for each other, and most importantly of all, Sydney would wear even less clothes than she usually does. Unfortunately for my bank account, J.J. Abrams, Bad Robot Productions, and ABC own Alias. I own nothing so don't sue me.

Pairing: This will be a Sydney/Vaughn piece. As if there's anything else.

Author's Note: I want to apologize for the long delay. I recently had two close friends that I have not seen since high school visit me during break, so I ended up spending most of my time with them and my girlfriend. We ate, we drank, and we were certainly merry. I tried to write, but I could never get to it. Unfortunately, they eventually had to leave. One went back to school at the Air Force Academy where he is training to become a pilot, and the other went back to his own college. I hope I get to see them again soon.

  


Dedication: I would like to dedicate this story to my friend. May you fly high. May you fly safe. May you fly. Thank you.

  
  


Vaughn shifted nervously in front of Sydney's piercing stare. Yelling he could handle. Disgust or indifference he could handle. But Sydney just staring at him? That made him more uncomfortable than anything he thought possible.

The worst part was that he could not tell what Sydney was thinking. Her stare, while searching, was ultimately blank and expressionless. It was like she was staring right at him, yet she could not see him. He didn't know if she was shocked speechless, so angry she couldn't talk, or what. This was not like the Sydney he knew. The Sydney he knew would have told him exactly how she felt, damn the consequences. Was it possible his confession affected her that much?

No. That didn't make sense either. While it was certainly surprising and out of character for him to kill, it shouldn't have been that unexpected. After all, he was in the CIA, and people killed and were killed occasionally. He realized that she might have thought he was different, but he did have a past before her, and really, it was only that one time. He had never killed anyone since then. Well that wasn't completely true. He had killed two of the CIA assassins sent after him, but that had been in self-defense and completely justified. Not to mention a very isolated incident.

Vaughn sighed. Sydney had to know that he wasn't some cold blooded killer. She had to know that he was not like the people in her "other" life. She should know he did not take what he did those four years ago lightly. He still suffered frequent nightmares about that night. The images of that night had forever been seared in his mind, and he would never forget the look of absolute shock on Elisa's face when he killed her.

Early in his relationship with Alice, she would frequently ask him what his recurring nightmare was about. Naturally, he couldn't tell her. The events that took place that night were classified after all. But even if they weren't, he would never repeat them. Memories like that were just too painful to recall. She had learned very quickly that the topic of his nightmare was strictly off-limits.

However, it showcased how strong his relationship was with Sydney that he was willing to tell her anything at all. He loved Alice, he really did, but he had stopped being in love with her a long time ago. Even before Sydney. Sydney had just been the catalyst to his revelation that he was no longer in love with Alice. It wasn't like he had woken up one morning and decided that he was no longer in love with Alice. It had happened gradually, over an extended period of time. 

He had never felt close enough with Alice to tell her about that night. Even when he had been in love with her, there had always been a part of him that had held back. With Sydney, holding back simply wasn't possible. Whenever he was around her, it was very hard to not open up. Something about Sydney made him be totally honest with her. That wasn't to say he didn't keep things from her, but keeping things secret and lying were two totally different things. He wasn't about to bring up in one of their normal conversations how four years ago he had killed someone, or the fact that he had more than handler type feelings for her. That was just stupid.

If she asked, though, he knew he would be hard pressed keeping the truth from her. He had made it a personal goal to never lie to Sydney. He liked thinking that he was the only person in her life that she could count on to be honest with her. That gave him a connection to her that nobody else had. She could tell him things that she could never share with anyone else, even Will and Francie. He did not want to give that up.

He just desperately hoped that he wouldn't have to give it up. Unfortunately, Sydney's reaction wasn't exactly instilling a lot of confidence in him.

"What was her name?"

Vaughn looked at Sydney in sudden surprise. After the long moment of silence, hearing anything coming out of Sydney's mouth would have surprised him. This was where he got nervous and uncomfortable. Even more so than before.

Vaughn's surprise shown clearly on his face. "Huh?"

Sydney's eyes connected with Vaughn's and she spoke in a clear voice, "What was her name? The name of the double agent you killed."

Vaughn winced slightly at the last part. When Vaughn answered, he did so hesitantly. "Her name was Elisa. Elisa Jones."

"And you killed her?" Sydney asked coldly.

Vaughn sighed. How did things get so out of control? He knew how. He knew going in that Sydney would want to know everything, and he knew she deserved to know. It just wasn't easy owning up to his past.

Vaughn responded in a tired voice, "Yeah Syd, I did. There were extenuating circumstances that you know nothing about. Not that that excuses what I did, but its not like I woke up one day and decided that it would be fun to see how long it would take her to die. I did what I had to do for the good of my team, for the agency, and for my country. You more than anyone else should understand that."

Sydney asked defensively, "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Come on Syd. What about that whole thing with Sloane? Don't get me wrong, I know you did it to save my life and I'm unbelievably grateful, but you can't exactly claim any moral high ground here. I'm just trying to point out that sometimes things aren't as black and white as you would like." 

Vaughn paused when he saw Sydney's face redden in anger. He thought about stopping, but quickly decided to push on. If things were going to go back to the way they had been, they needed to air whatever grievances they might have had. Vaughn continued in a tight controlled voice, "I weighed my choices, and I decided which one was best. I have to live with the consequences of my actions every time I look at myself in a mirror. But if I had to do it all over again, I would."

Sydney's face softened somewhat and Vaughn was filled with hope. He tried as best he could to show Sydney how much he meant what he was feeling. It was important that she see he was being honest, and that he really was suffering because of what he had done.

"I don't think you're a psycho Vaughn. Nor do I think your decision wasn't made out of necessity. It's just a lot to take in, that's all." Sydney hoped she conveyed her feelings well enough so that Vaughn could understand where she was coming from.

Vaughn nodded his head enthusiastically. "I understand that Sydney, and I completely respect how you feel. I just don't want you to get the wrong idea. Your opinion matters a lot to me Sydney."

Vaughn's tiny confession pulled on Sydney's heartstrings. It was painfully obvious from the way Vaughn was looking at her that he really did regret what he had done. Not to mention, hearing that her opinion mattered to him, really made her soften her stance.

However, there was still one thing Sydney needed to know before she moved on. She had to know why. She voiced her question out loud. "Why Vaughn? Why did you have to kill her?"

Vaughn thought long and hard on how he should answer Sydney's question. How could he tell her without explaining everything? He might be on the lamb, but that didn't mean he was ready to chuck CIA protocol out the window. It was too much of who he was.

The knowledge of Elisa Jones betrayal, and the subsequent events leading up to and resulting from her death, were the reasons why Project Sally had been shut down in the first place. The CIA ran black ops all the time, but Project Sally had been secret even for the CIA. The fact that so much exposure had been accrued by one of their most secret operations had caused the CIA to react swiftly and quietly. They had classified all data pertaining to the operation, erased most of the records, and prematurely retired all the agents involved in the project. All except Vaughn of course.

The only reason why Vaughn had not been retired like his fellow teammates was because Devlin had interceded on his behalf. Devlin had personally vouched for his integrity, his loyalty to the Agency, and his willingness to forget Project Sally ever existed. Devlin had, for all intents and purposes, put his own ass on the line for Vaughn. Which was why it was so hard for Vaughn to believe that Devlin was the one behind the hit on his life. Events just weren't meshing well.

Despite Devlin's personal recommendation that Vaughn was a valued member of the Agency and that it would be their loss if he were to be retired, the Agency higher-ups had decided that everyone would be best served if he was out of the way. So they had moved him out of the Operations branch, rescinded his field agent status, and hid him behind a desk. He had been effectively demoted, but at least he got to stay with the Agency.

Things hadn't been that bad though. While being an analyst was not the most exciting job in the world, it did have its perks. He was able to live a safe and relatively normal life. The pay wasn't great, but the benefits were better. Plus, his new job had allowed him to meet Weiss, and the two had become fast friends.

Weiss had been great, and it was because of him that Vaughn's transition from field agent to paper pusher wasn't as horrible as he had initially feared. There were times where Vaughn had wanted to confess all to Weiss about his past, but protocol would always rear its ugly head and remind him that that information was classified. 

Vaughn had always wondered, if given the opportunity, what he would actually say to Weiss. Unfortunately for him, Vaughn had never had that opportunity so he had never had to think up of ways to say what he wanted to say. This was the same problem he was facing now.

Should he screw protocol and tell Sydney what she obviously wanted to hear? Should he keep quiet, even at the risk of alienating Sydney? Should he tell her part of the story, making sure to omit certain "sensitive" parts? These questions all flashed in Vaughn's mind, but he unfortunately had no answers.

Unfortunately for Vaughn, he would never get the chance to answer those questions. A loud bang in the night, an obvious gunshot, spurred Vaughn and Sydney into activity. Questions that needed to be answered would have to wait.

  


The silence in the car was almost deafening to Tiffany's ears. If not for the wind rushing through the busted front windshield, which was incredibly cold, Tiffany would have thought she was in the car all by herself.

The man driving the car, and the object of her attention, had not said more than five words to her since he had saved her life. For Tiffany, that was bad. She needed answers and she needed them now. She was seriously starting to wonder if maybe she hadn't been better off staying in the pier parking lot with the two men who had tried to kill her.

When she had first seen Kyle Prescott she had been overjoyed and grateful beyond words. After all, he had just saved her life, he was alive when he was supposed to be dead, and she had found herself a potential new ally. But then the reality of the situation weighed down on her, and she began to wonder how Kyle had known where she was, that she needed help, and most importantly of all, she was wondering why he was still alive. That question more than any other had to be answered. Soon.

If not, then Tiffany was going to have to escape from yet another life threatening situation. 

"Where are you and Michael suppose to meet?" Kyle asked her. The breaking of the silent monotony caught Tiffany by surprise and she was slow in responding.

When she did, her voice was full of suspicion. "I appreciate the save Kyle, I really do, but I'm not telling you a damn thing until you answer some of my questions."

Kyle briefly glanced over in her direction. "You don't trust me." 

Tiffany nodded her head in response. She recognized that what he had said was more a statement than a question, but she answered him all the same. "Would you trust me? If our situations were reversed, would you answer the questions that you have asked me?"

Kyle fixed his eyes back on the road and answered simply, "No."

Tiffany sucked in a sudden breath of air and winced when she moved her injured leg. She tried to turn herself so that she could better focus on Kyle, but her leg was preventing her from moving any more than necessary.

Kyle heard her sudden intake of breath and turned his head to see if she was alright. When he noticed her shifting her leg so that she could better reposition herself, he commented, "Maybe we should stop. You really need to get that leg looked at."

"Absolutely not. We are not stopping. I'm fine Kyle, don't worry." Tiffany then grinned and said lightly, "Besides, if Mikey hears that I couldn't handle being shot in the leg, he'll never let me hear the end of it. I gave him a pretty hard time when he got hit in the shoulder, and I don't want him to return the favor."

Kyle snorted in amusement and shook his head in mock disapproval. Tiffany added, "I can get patched up when I meet back up with Michael."

"Well, seeing how you won't tell me where you and Vaughn are suppose to meet, I don't see that happening any time soon." Kyle said sourly.

Tiffany sighed. "I told you already Kyle. I'm not taking you near Vaughn until I know you're on the level. You're supposed to be dead you know. The fact that you're alive does not bode well for your credibility."

"I can't tell you everything you want to know Tif. At least not yet. As for how I'm still alive, that is a story I would prefer to tell to both you and Michael. I don't want to have to say it twice." Kyle tried to reason.

Tiffany wasn't having it though. "That's too bad Kyle. Unless you can give me something other than how you survived and escaped from the Chinese, I have no reason to trust you. I need proof Kyle. Your word just isn't good enough."

Kyle suddenly crushed the brake petal, stopping the car violently, and pulled to the side of the road. In anger, Kyle turned off the engine and turned around in his seat to face Tiffany who was looking at him in wide eyed surprise.

Kyle brought his hands to his chest and violently pulled apart his button-down shirt. When he did, Tiffany could see several long, angry red scars dotting the terrain of Kyle's chest. Her eyes moved down his torso to see purple blotches of skin along his ribs.

Kyle pointed his finger at his chest and practically shouted, "You want your proof! Well here it is! Do you see what they did to me? I went through this for almost two weeks. Do you think they would do this to someone who was working for them?"

Tiffany couldn't help but feel remorse and sadness for the obvious pain that Kyle must have gone through. She still wasn't completely convinced though. His injuries could be faked. By that she meant that he could have let someone do them to him so that he would look more convincing.

Tiffany moved her hand to Kyle's chest and gently ran her hand along his chest. When she ran her hand along his ribs, Kyle winced slightly. She looked up in surprise, "They're still sore? Its been over a month since you were reported dead."

Kyle's voice was noticeable calmer when he spoke. "They were broken pretty bad. I couldn't tape them, so I had to let them stay unmended for a few days. I'm lucky none of them punctured a lung."

Tiffany moved her hand up to Kyle's shirt and brought the two ends together, covering his chest. She leaned back and fixed Kyle with a steady look. "I want to believe you Kyle, but I've been burned too many times by people I'm supposed to be able to trust. You're asking me to put my life and Mikey's life on the line for you."

Kyle looked at her in slight disbelief and then shook his head in disgust. He said resentfully, "Fine." Kyle reached into the backseat and grabbed a duffel bag. He placed the bag on his lap and stuck his hand inside it, searching for something. After a few seconds, he found what he was looking for.

He pulled his hand out of the bag and placed the bag back on the backseat. He then gave the object he had taken to Tiffany. "There. That's all the proof you need."

Tiffany looked at the computer disk curiously. "What is it?"

Kyle smiled tightly and said, "I know Mike too well. I knew the disk I sent to him would end up with the bureaucrats at the Agency. So I made a copy. That is a record of everything I was sent to find on Project Sally. That's your proof and my life your holding in your hands."

  
  


Vaughn looked at his watch for the third time in the last five minutes. Sydney noticed his actions and said, "I'm sure she's all right Vaughn."

Vaughn leapt off the stool he was sitting on and started pacing. Briefly glancing over at Sydney, he started talking. "That's the thing though. I don't know that. I know Tiffany can take care of herself, but what if she's hurt or something?" Vaughn's worry and despair was as plain as day. He continued angrily, "I should have never left her there! What was I thinking?"

Sydney got off her own stool and walked up to Vaughn. She forced Vaughn to stop pacing and looked him straight in the eyes. Steadily, she said, "You were thinking Vaughn. You did the right thing. Tiffany would have done the same thing."

Vaughn let out a harsh laugh. "That's where you're wrong Syd. Tiffany wouldn't have done the same thing. She would have come after me." Vaughn turned his back on Sydney and walked farther into the darkness of the warehouse. He said quietly, "She would have said screw protocol and come after me even if it was the stupid thing to do."

Vaughn turned back around to face Sydney. Darkness covered most of his face, but Sydney could clearly see his haunted eyes. "I may have done the smart thing Sydney, but I did not do the right thing."

Sydney got angry. "So what? Would you rather be dead now? And what about me huh? Would you have just left me?"

Vaughn stepped back into the light and Sydney could see his face flush with anger. She could feel her own emotions start to bubble to the surface and she took a step closer as well. This whole argument was pissing her off. She didn't like hearing that Vaughn would be willing to leave her to go off and save another woman. Oh sure, she was more than capable of taking care of herself, but it was the principle of the thing. Vaughn was only supposed to be willing to do that for her, not for someone else.

She knew that a part of her was being irrational, but she knew Vaughn was also acting irrationally. Emotions were running high between Vaughn and herself, especially after hearing about him killing somebody, and she knew that a confrontation was bound to happen. She couldn't stand that he was keeping things from her. He was not acting like the man she expected him to be. She realized belatedly that he was acting human.

Sydney had always held Vaughn on some kind of pedestal. He was the man that never lied to her, the man that was always willing to listen to what she had to say, and he was the man that always supported her. She expected him to act that way, and when he didn't, she was unsure on how to handle herself around him.

She knew it was unfair and impossible to expect him to act that way all the time, but she did it nonetheless. Vaughn was supposed to be her perfect, unwavering rock. Now that he wasn't, she was losing control.

Sydney took some comfort in the fact that Vaughn felt the same way about her. She knew from the way she would sometimes catch him looking at her when he didn't think she was paying attention, that Vaughn thought she was special. It wasn't necessarily a sexual thing, although certain times she could pick up that vibe, it was more of a feeling of friendship, admiration, and respect. Vaughn respected her and believed in her, more than any man she knew. They had a mutual admiration society thing going on, she thought with an inward smile.

Outwardly, however, her face stayed in its angry visage. Vaughn's face did not. His face went from angry to almost shocked. Sydney could see a sparkle in his eye and a small grin suddenly appeared on his face. Vaughn's about face caught Sydney off guard.

Sydney asked angrily, "What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

Vaughn chuckled at her the look on her face. "I was just wondering why you were acting the way you were about Tiffany when it suddenly came to me." Vaughn sighed dramatically. "God, I can be such an idiot sometimes. Tif tells me that I'm oblivious to women, but even I should have picked up on this."

Sydney got confused and asked again, "What the hell are you talking about Vaughn?"

Vaughn said simply, "You're jealous. Of Tiffany."

Sydney's face flashed a deep scarlet. She quickly changed from embarrassment to anger though. "I am not jealous. What do I have to be jealous of? I don't have those kind of feelings for you, and even if I did they wouldn't matter!"

Vaughn actually laughed, which was a bad thing to do because Sydney took a threatening step forward. Vaughn immediately raised his hands in surrender. "I'm sorry Sydney. Its not you I'm laughing at I swear. Its me."

Sydney stopped her advance and looked at Vaughn inquisitively. "What do you mean?"

Vaughn hesitated before speaking, but this was something he had to say, no matter the consequences. It would drive him insane if he didn't. "For the longest time, I have had feelings for you that would be classified as inappropriate at best. And I've tried to keep them bottled up and not let them bother me. I thought I had succeeded for awhile, but then this whole mess started and all I could think about was telling you how I felt. Fast forward a month, and the chance that I've been waiting for happens when I'm waiting in some abandoned, dank, and dirty warehouse where I'm hiding for my life from the people I work for and hoping the woman I think of as my little sister is not dead or dying alone on some abandoned street. I just realized at that moment how truly screwed up my life was and the only thing I could do was laugh." Vaughn explained amusedly.

Sydney stared at Vaughn. What he had just said was still processing in her mind. She repeated, "Little sister?"

Vaughn laughed lightly at Sydney's slightly dazed look. "Yeah Syd, my little sister. We have too much history together for me to think of her as anything else. Besides, I don't think I'm her type."

Sydney recovered enough to grin happily in Vaughn's direction. As much as she didn't want to dwell on her feelings for Vaughn too much, she was incredibly pleased that Vaughn wasn't interested in Tiffany. "Not her type huh? If you're not her type then what is?" A part of Sydney balked at the thought that any woman would not want Michael Vaughn. But then she realized that she was biased in her opinion.

Vaughn shrugged his shoulders and said, "I don't really know. She doesn't really have much of a type." Vaughn then paused and quickly gave Sydney an appreciative once over. He then grinned conspiratorially, "Although if I had to guess, I'd say she likes tall brunettes with gorgeous brown eyes, a great body, and killer legs."

Sydney stared at Vaughn uncomprehendingly and said, "Oh." Sudden realization hit her and her eyes widened and her face reddened a deep maroon color and she said, "Ohhh."

Vaughn grinned. "Yep. So you see, you have nothing to worry about. If anything, I'm the one who should be worried."

Vaughn didn't think it was possible but Sydney's face got even redder. Vaughn decided to take pity on Sydney and change the subject. "Anyway, as I was saying, this whole thing is one big joke. It wasn't until a month ago that I truly understood everything you go through every day Syd. I don't know how you do it."

Sydney's embarrassment lessened and her face started to resume its normal color. "Sometimes I don't know either Vaughn. I depend on you, Will, Francie, and my father to keep me grounded. If it weren't for you guys I would have cracked a long time ago."

Vaughn nodded his head in response. "Yeah, if it wasn't for Tiffany I would have never made it." Vaughn paused and then added, "You know Syd, I think you and Tiffany would get along great if you could just spend some time around each other. You are so alike its scary."

Sydney was about to respond to Vaughn's comment when both Vaughn and Sydney heard the sound of feet shuffling against the warehouse floor. Sydney clamped her mouth shut and slunk her way into the shadows. She checked to make sure Vaughn was doing the same, and saw him crouched behind a large crate with his gun drawn.

Sydney heard Vaughn cock his gun and she readied her body to attack whoever was coming. Fortunately, they didn't have to wait long. Seconds after moving to their positions, they could make out two forms walking toward them. It looked like one was having a hard time walking and was leaning on the other.

When the two reached the point where the dark met the light, one of the two people spoke up. "Mikey? I know you're out there. It's me."

Sydney quickly glanced in Vaughn's direction and saw him let out a deep breath. His shoulders relaxed in relief and he brought his gun down to his side. Sydney worried that he was going to leave his hiding spot; it was still too soon to expose themselves.

Before Vaughn could move, Sydney yelled out, "Who is with you?"

Sydney saw the two people finally move into the light. One was a man that she had never seen before and the other was Tiffany. Sydney saw a piece of cloth with a growing red spot wrapped around Tiffany's upper leg and she understood now why she needed help walking.

In answer to Sydney's question, Tiffany responded, "Mikey, you'll never guess who I ran into. Look who it is."

Sydney looked back to Vaughn and saw his eyes widen in shock. His body went stiff and his gun was back up and pointing in the direction of Tiffany and the strange man. Before Sydney could do or say anything, Vaughn jumped up and walked up to the two.

Vaughn raised his gun and pointed it straight at the man. In a tightly controlled voice, he said, "Tiffany, move away from him now."

Tiffany did the opposite. She moved in front of the man, putting her body between Vaughn's gun and the man. Tiffany spoke calmly, "Mikey, its ok. He's cool. I know that he's supposed to be dead, but he says he can explain everything and I believe him. I trust him."

Sydney saw the futility in hiding any longer and left her hiding place to stand next to Vaughn. Vaughn saw Sydney sidle up next to him out of the corner of his eye and shot her a quick smile in thanks before turning back to face Kyle and Tiffany.

Vaughn still wasn't convinced. "Are you sure Tif? This whole thing doesn't feel right."

Tiffany nodded her head and reached out to place her hand on Vaughn's gun hand. She slowly started to push the gun down. She said comfortingly, "I'm sure Mikey. He saved my life."

Vaughn had been so focused on seeing Kyle for the first time that he hadn't noticed that Tiffany was hurt until now. When he did, his face grew concerned. "Are you all right?"

Tiffany seemed to be convinced that Vaughn was not going to try and kill Kyle anymore and so she made a beeline for a crate to sit on. When she did, she sighed in pleasure. "Yeah Mikey, it's just a flesh wound. It only hurts when I move my leg."

Vaughn moved to check her out himself. While Vaughn was fussing over Tiffany, Sydney decided to introduce herself to the stranger. "Hi, I'm Sydney."

The man nodded his head at her, but he was looking at Vaughn and Tiffany. To be more precise, he was looking at Vaughn. He said distractedly, "I'm Kyle. Kyle Prescott."

"Let me guess. You're part of Vaughn's old team too?" Sydney asked a little bitterly.

Kyle was still focused on the others, and he responded, "Huh? Oh yeah,... Michael and I were on the Project Sally op together."

Sydney latched onto what Kyle said eagerly. If Vaughn wouldn't tell her what she wanted to know then maybe Kyle would. "Project Sally? What is that?"

Kyle finally stopped staring at Vaughn and said in a surprised tone, "Michael hasn't told you?"

Sydney responded dejectedly, "No and every time I ask he manages to change the subject."

"Well, if Michael hasn't told you then I'm sorry but I can't say anything either. It's classified."

Sydney growled angrily and then turned around to stomp over towards Vaughn. When she did, she violently grabbed his sweatshirt and lifted him to his feet. Vaughn looked at her in surprise and said worriedly, "Uh...Syd, what are you doing?"

"I'm tired of all the run around Vaughn. I want the truth about Project Sally and I want it right now. No more subject changes. No more convenient incidents. Just tell me the truth."

Vaughn tried to placate her, "Ok Syd. I'll tell you, just would you...uh...let me go."

Sydney looked down at where her hands were grabbing Vaughn's sweatshirt and quickly released her hold. She blushed and mumbled an apology as she backed away.

Vaughn smiled shakily at her and began his tale, "Project Sally was a top secret op started by the CIA in 1995..." 

To be continued.....................

  


P.S. I am so happy that we finally got a new episode of Alias. I was starting to go through serious Jennifer Garner withdrawal. Thankfully, after Sunday, I no longer after to worry. My fix should be more than enough to last me until the next episode which looks to be a doozy for S/V fans. That is, if the promo can be trusted. There is something about that voice over guy that just annoys the hell out of me. He seems so shifty. Maybe I'm crazy, I don't know, but you guys tell me what you think.

P.S. I know this chapter didn't have a lot of action in it, but it was an important setup piece. Next chapter we get Kyle's story, Devlin explains himself, and we will finally learn what Project Sally is. Unfortunately, the new chapter may be long in coming as I must acclimate myself to the new semester. Plus, I will be actively searching for employment which will, when combined with school, cut down considerably on my writing time. Sorry. Oh, and please review. Please!!!! The last two chapters have done poorly, and the only way I will speed up my timetable is if the response to this chapter is good.

P.S. If FF.net didn't suck so much and constantly crash, I would have posted this chapter on Tuesday. Instead, I had to wait to post until now. It still manages to amaze me that a site like this has so many system errors. I have been visiting this site for over three years, and in all that time the admins have never been able to completely fix this thing. Unfortunately, this is not only the best site out there for budding writers like myself, it is the only site. I just wish they would get their act together. Sorry, for the rant but stuff like this really annoys me. Its probably just my post-drunken revelry inner-college student complaining. 


	11. Author's Announcement

  
  


Hi everybody. I'm sure when you saw that I had updated Angel Dark, you thought I had posted a new chapter, and not this. Well, as you can see, you were wrong. I apologize profusely, but I must tell you that I will not be able to meet my self imposed deadline of posting a new chapter before the Super Bowl. In fact it may be a while before I post anything.

There are many reasons why I am putting my two stories on hiatus. One, school is starting to overwhelm me already, and I need to take a pause in writing to focus on that. Two, life is becoming a little too hectic for my taste, and I need to dedicate more of my time to keep that under control. And thirdly, something has happened in my personal life that needs my undivided attention. I don't want to go into details, but I need time to process what happened and deal with that before I do anything else.

I am telling you this because I feel that I owe you all an explanation. You have all been great, what with your feedback, praise, and encouragement. And I have felt like I have gotten to know some of you a little bit. Thanks for your understanding and acceptance.

I will post again, so don't worry. I have no intention of just leaving you hanging. Hopefully, everything will be ok by the end of February. See you all again soon, and I hope life treats you better than it has treated me.

  



	12. Another Author's NoteSorry!

All right, I know what you're thinking. You're probably asking yourself 'What the Hell?' right about now, and I don't blame you. I'm sure the last thing you wanted to see was another long winded, worthless, piece of drivel from me. I'm sure you're probably angrily sulking about having to wait even longer for another chapter. Well, I'm sorry. I truly am.

However, this time its not my fault. Really, its not. If you wanna yell, berate, and scream at someone, scream at the person who deserves it. You know who I'm talking about. That's right. Blame J.J. It really is his fault.

You see, after the last two eps, I've become...disillusioned. Jaded if you will. I sit in front of my computer and ask myself, 'What's the point?' After all, there's no SD-6 anymore, there's no longer any UST between S/V, and Francie, despite how indifferent I was to her character, is no longer alive. I have to ask myself if Angel Dark is even relevant anymore. Is it? I don't know, and therein lies my problem.

Should I continue writing a story that no longer has any basis in the Alias reality? I realize that Angel Dark contains concepts that could be considered AUish, but the basic underlying precepts still apply. Now, the basis for the story is no longer canon and I hate writing (or reading for that matter) things that go against canon (at least in the Alias verse I do). I don't know what to do.

Now I don't want you to get the wrong impression. Unlike many of the people out there, I happen to approve of the direction J.J. has taken the story in. I strongly believe that the SD-6 storyline, along with the will they-won't they? aspect of the S/V relationship would have become stagnant and boring after a while. The man has balls of steel to do what he did, and I have immense respect for him. But by doing what he has done, he's pretty much screwed over me and the fanfic community at large. I love J.J. (Thanks for all the JG skin by the way. You will have my eternal praise for that) but I also loathe him as well.

That is why I am putting this to a vote. I have a feeling that this is unnecessary, since many of you say that you want to reach the end, but I need reassurance. I just don't have the will to write anymore and the only way I will change my mind is if the response is so overwhelming in regards to continuing Angel Dark. I need you readers out there to tell me that despite what has happened you still want Angel Dark to continue. 

  
  


On a side note, I'll say one thing for the new direction the show has taken. The S/V stuff is so freaking hot I've almost forgotten that there is an actual plot to Alias. Syd and Vaughn are just so freakin adorable together, and their scenes just sizzle now. That kiss at the end of Phase One was like watching a porno and the ending of Double Agent was...just plain HOT. As a guy, this stuff usually doesn't affect me, but when you have the two most attractive people on the whole damn planet gettin it on, it can't help but affect you. 

I say this with complete honesty. I am a 100% straight, heterosexual male and I have never ever considered switching teams before, but goddamn, Michael Vartan is one hot man. He almost makes me wish I was gay. Almost. Thank god I have JG to sway me in the right direction, or I might have to tell my girlfriend the bad news.

  


I know this wasn't what you wanted to see, but thanks for sticking with me for this long. I will do as the people wish.


	13. Chapter 11

Title: Angel Dark

Author: DOKChairman

Time: No particular time frame. Assume everything that has happened up to Counteragent is fair game.

Disclaimer: I do not own Alias. If I did, Dixon would actually appear in an episode this season, Marshall would be in practically every scene (that guy cracks me up so much), Sydney and Vaughn would at the very least admit that they have feelings for each other, and most importantly of all, Sydney would wear even less clothes than she usually does. Unfortunately for my bank account, J.J. Abrams, Bad Robot Productions, and ABC own Alias. I own nothing so don't sue me.

Pairing: This will be a Sydney/Vaughn piece. As if there's anything else.

  


A/N: I decided to start this chapter off with the very end of Chapter 10. However, I decided to reword it a little bit so don't get too confused. If you need a point of reference just check out the old chapter. After some much needed hindsight and reflection, I decided that I just didn't like the ending. It just didn't do it for me. So I've changed it.

I get to be the exposition fairy for this chapter. Yay!! Don't you all just love fairies? I almost feel like prancing. But I won't because I don't want to come off as too pretentious.

Dedication: As usual, this story is dedicated to Angela and Jada. Without you two, this chapter would be a shadow of itself. Thank you for your beta work. And a special thanks goes to Angela for setting me straight on my use of the comma. You have some serious comma issues. Oh, and Jada, I thought about your suggestions for a long time, but I decided to end the story as is. I wanted to save the things you suggested for Chapter 12. Talk to Angela, she was the deciding vote in my decision to keep the end as it is. I hope you still like what I have. Just don't flame me. I don't know if my heart could take it...

  


Sydney decided to introduce herself to the strange man standing in front of her. "Hi, I'm Sydney." 

The man nodded his head at her distractedly; he was too busy looking at Vaughn and Tiffany. To be more precise, he was looking at Vaughn. He said offhandedly, "I'm Kyle. Kyle Prescott."

"Let me guess. You're part of Vaughn's old team too?" Sydney asked a little bitterly. Vaughn's past was obviously an important part of what made him who he was and it was driving Sydney crazy that she knew next to nothing about it.

Kyle was still focused on the others and he responded, "Huh? Oh yeah... Michael and I were on the Project Sally op together."

Sydney latched onto what Kyle said eagerly. If Vaughn wouldn't tell her what she wanted to know then maybe Kyle would. "Project Sally? What is that?"

Kyle finally stopped staring at Vaughn and said in a surprisingly happy tone, "Michael hasn't told you yet?"

Sydney glared at Vaughn pointedly and answered frustratedly, "No, and every time I ask he manages to change the subject."

"Well, if Michael hasn't told you then I'm sorry but I can't say anything either. It's classified."

Sydney growled angrily and then turned around to stomp over towards Vaughn. When she did, she violently grabbed his sweatshirt and lifted him to his feet. Vaughn looked at her in surprise and said worriedly, "Uh...Syd, what are you doing?"

"I'm tired of all the run around Vaughn. I want the truth about Project Sally and I want it right now. No more subject changes. No more convenient incidents. Just tell me the truth."

Vaughn tried to placate her, "Ok, Syd. I'll tell you, just would you...uh...let me go."

Sydney looked down at where her hands were grabbing Vaughn's sweatshirt and quickly released her hold. She blushed and mumbled an apology as she backed away. But she still managed to fix him with a determined look. Vaughn knew at that moment that he would not leave the warehouse in one piece without telling Sydney everything she wanted to hear.

Vaughn turned away from Sydney to face Tiffany and Kyle. "Guys, I want to talk to Sydney alone. Would you mind going some place else?" Both Kyle and Tiffany could clearly see the pleading in Vaughn's eyes.

Tiffany nodded her head in understanding. "Sure, Michael. Take your time. However, if I leave there'll be no one to protect you if you piss her off again." 

Vaughn glared at Tiffany and Sydney smiled with a self-satisfied smirk. "Thanks, Tif. Your support means so much to me." Vaughn's voice was dripping with sarcasm.

Tiffany just smiled widely at Vaughn. She then hobbled over to Kyle and said, "Come on, let's go. We should let the two lovebirds have their time together." Kyle, with Tiffany leaning on him for support, started walking away to the other side of the large warehouse.

Vaughn groaned dramatically and he saw Sydney blushing out of the corner of his eye. He almost felt like denying the accusation, but he just didn't see the point. Tiffany was right and he didn't feel like going through all his self-denial exercises at the moment.

Vaughn took a deep breath. This was not going to be fun or easy. He walked stiffly over to an old wooden crate and sat down heavily. He gingerly rotated his left shoulder and let out a groan as the joint shifted painfully. He cursed his body for betraying him at such an inopportune time. As if he didn't have enough on his mind, now he had to deal with his busted shoulder as well.

Vaughn's displeasure did not go unnoticed by the other occupant of the dank warehouse. Sydney asked worriedly, "Are you all right, Vaughn?"

Vaughn sighed and responded quietly, "Yeah, Syd. I'm fine, don't worry. It just gets sore sometimes when I move it around too much."

Sydney maintained her concerned look but she let the subject drop. She didn't really think Vaughn was as fine as he claimed but she knew at this point it would be pointless to argue. 

"You might want to sit down, Syd. This could take awhile."

Vaughn's voice broke through her thoughts and Sydney took his advice to heart. She quickly scanned the surrounding area for a suitable crate to sit on. It didn't take her long to find one; the warehouse was full of crates of many different shapes and sizes. She dragged a dirt bespeckled crate and plotted herself down right in front of Vaughn. She wanted to be able to look him directly in the eyes as he told her his story.

She needed to have that connection to him. If for nothing else than to be sure that he was telling the truth. Sydney knew from her somewhat obsessive observance of Vaughn that the man was not the best of liars. He could lie when he had to, of that she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt, but he never lied to her. As far as she knew at least. She prayed he wouldn't do that now.

"Did I ever tell you that I graduated from law school?"

The question caught Sydney by surprise. "Uh...no. I don't think you did." Once again, Sydney was saddened by the fact that Vaughn's past was such a mystery to her. What kind of friend was she that she didn't even know that he had graduated from law school? Never mind that Vaughn never told her anything himself; she should have dragged it out of him long before now. Sydney sighed and then got her mind back on the problem at hand, namely finding out anything and everything on Project Sally, "What does this have to do with Project Sally, Vaughn?" 

Vaughn ignored her question. He was trying to stay as calm as possible. He didn't want Sydney to see how uncomfortable talking about his past was making him. He continued on in his controlled tone, "Yeah. I graduated from UCLA with a degree in international law. I never took the Bar though. I applied to the CIA right after graduating."

Now Sydney was really getting confused. "This is going somewhere right, Vaughn?" She paused and then said threateningly, "Because if you're trying to change the subject again..." Sydney's voice trailed off.

Vaughn smiled at Sydney. "I wouldn't dream of doing that. The last thing I want to do is incur the wrath of Sydney Bristow." Sydney let out a snort. Vaughn continued, "Anyway, after completing my training, I was given a choice. I could become a field agent or I could do something in a less dangerous capacity. After careful consideration, I chose to become an analyst."

The pieces were finally starting to fall into place for Sydney and realization dawned in her eyes. This was great. She could hear Vaughn talk about his past _and_ learn about Project Sally. Talk about killing two birds with one stone. She asked wonderingly, "Why didn't you become a field agent? I think you would make an excellent agent."

Vaughn flushed slightly at the compliment. "There were many reasons; most of them personal. At the time, I didn't think I had the necessary mental fortitude necessary for enduring the harsh realities of living an undercover life. Plus, my girlfriend at the time hated the idea." Vaughn shrugged his shoulders. "But the main reason, I suppose, was because of my mom. She had already lost one man in her life and becoming a field agent would have put me in constant danger. I didn't want her to have to go through that again."

"Oh," Sydney quietly responded. Mentioning his father and seeing the pain and sadness crossing his face made her remember the role her family had played in his father's death. Not that she ever forgot. 

Vaughn chuckled. "Of course, my being an analyst lasted all of about six months."

"What happened?"

"I got recruited for a new special project that the CIA was conducting."

Sydney prompted, "Project Sally?"

Vaughn nodded. "Yeah, Project Sally." Vaughn paused and then sort of chuckled mirthlessly. "It's ironic really. I became an analyst to avoid danger, but it was being an analyst that got me picked for Project Sally."

Sydney was curious, "Why were you recruited for a project op if you weren't a field agent?"

Vaughn grinned. "Would you believe it was because I was too smart?"

Sydney returned Vaughn's grin. Vaughn continued, "I was recruited because the project leader at the time saw my work as an analyst and he immediately picked me up. He needed an analyst on his team, but he needed one who was qualified for field work as well. I was one of a few on a very short list. Plus, I think the fact that Devlin recommended me for the job sealed the deal for him."

Sydney's nose scrunched and her forehead furrowed in confusion. It was a cute trait, Vaughn fleetingly thought, one he hadn't noticed before. "I don't understand, Vaughn. If you were so intent on avoiding fieldwork, then why did you agree to join Project Sally?"

Vaughn chuckled lightly. "Honestly, Syd, I've been asking myself the same question for years now and you know what? I still have no clue." 

Sydney grinned. Vaughn laughed and added, "I think I just woke up one morning and decided to just go for it. I can't really explain it. Maybe it had to do with wanting to be like my father; I don't know. But when I was presented with a chance to do something to help out my country in a more proactive role, I jumped at the chance. Does that make any sense?"

Sydney nodded her head in understanding. "It does. I can remember feeling the same way when SD-6 approached me. I was so excited about doing something worthwhile for my country that I didn't even stop to consider the consequences of my decision." Sydney paused and then said bitterly, "I sometimes wonder how my life would have turned out if I had turned them down."

Vaughn's eyes softened and he reached out to grasp Sydney's hand. A warm sensation shot up both their arms and Sydney looked away. Vaughn held her hand in a loose grip until she turned her face back to his. He gave her a small smile and she smiled in return. "Sydney, you are a good person. If you had not joined SD-6, you're life would have been easier and less complicated, but you would not be the person you are today. You would not be the Sydney Bristow that I know. You would not be my friend. If you had never joined SD-6, you would have never met me. For that alone, I will always be grateful you chose to make that phone call all those long years ago."

Sydney blushed at Vaughn's admission and again turned her face away. A pleased smile graced her features and Vaughn reluctantly let go of her hand. Vaughn didn't want to but he needed to get back on track. 

Vaughn continued with his story, "Once I expressed interest in joining the project, I was naturally told everything." Vaughn stopped and sighed. He knew that this was it. It was time he told her everything. He just hoped she understood why he had done the things he did when he finished.

"Project Sally was initially comprised of eight agents. Three of whom you already know. There is no need to go into detail on the remaining members of the team. They're all dead." Vaughn finished sadly.

Vaughn shut his eyes in pain and he took a deep breath. Vaughn heard Sydney ask in stunned surprise, "Dead? Everyone else on your team is dead? How?"

Vaughn opened his eyes and Sydney was momentarily taken aback by the amount of emotion she could see. It was obvious that the death of his teammates weighed heavily on his mind. Vaughn responded to Sydney's question quietly, "I don't know for sure. I suspect that the same people in the CIA who are trying to kill me are also the ones that killed the others. They are the only ones that should know where the others were hidden."

"Why is the CIA trying to kill you, Vaughn? None of this makes any sense." Sydney asked imploringly.

Vaughn ignored Sydney's question and began his explanation. "Project Sally was special. It was a deep cover op with extended periods of time in the field. There were times where we would not even surface for weeks, sometimes months at a time. We grew to depend on each other for everything. We were a family and we trusted each other implicitly. That is, until I found out about Elisa."

Vaughn paused before continuing. This was where things started to get ugly. "Elisa Jones had been my...friend. We were close. I trusted her and she trusted me. At least that was how I thought things were. I couldn't have been more wrong. Elisa had been betraying me and the team from almost the entire time we had been...close."

Sydney interrupted Vaughn. Her voice wavered, "Vaughn, I appreciate you trying to spare me the gory details, but you don't have to cover up what happened between you and Elisa. It's all right if you two..." Syd paused and swallowed uncomfortably, "...slept together. You don't need to pretend that you were only friends."

Vaughn's face flushed. He fidgeted nervously. "It's not that I'm uncomfortable talking about my past relationships, it's just that Elisa is a very sensitive subject for me. She betrayed this country, our friends, and me. To call her my girlfriend would be a joke," Vaughn said bitterly. Vaughn paused and then said angrily, "It was because of our relationship that she was able to go double so easily. She used me."

Vaughn unexpectedly leapt up from his crate and started pacing agitatedly. Sydney looked on in concern. This was so unlike Vaughn. She had never seen him so angry before. 

Vaughn's angry tone continued, "I should have seen it coming, but I didn't. I let my feelings cloud my judgment and I broke every known protocol to be with her. I was stupid and because of my actions the project was exposed and everything was shut down. And now everybody on the team is being hunted down."

Vaughn's voice trailed off and the two became silent. Vaughn continued to pace angrily and Sydney watched him carefully. "What was Project Sally, Vaughn?"

Vaughn stopped his pacing and fixed her with a nervous look. "Before I say anything, I need you to promise me that you will let me finish before you start asking questions."

Sydney responded without hesitation, "Of course." She was so eager to finally find out what Project Sally really was she would have probably agreed to anything Vaughn had asked.

Vaughn sighed in relief and resumed his spot back on his crate. Vaughn quietly contemplated how to explain everything in a way that made sense. Finally, he began. "At the time of Project Sally's inception, the world was in a very different place. The Cold War had only ended five years prior and the CIA was still transitioning from dedicated, large scale operations regarding the Soviet Union and its satellites; to smaller, less specific operations regarding terrorism, criminal activities, and cleaning up the messes left over by the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The CIA was expanding its purview and Project Sally was part of that."

Vaughn paused and swallowed carefully. "There was a man that had always been known to the CIA, but until the end of the Cold War, he had never been a priority. In fact, even when Project Sally was in full swing the CIA higher ups never showed much interest in what we were doing. They didn't know what we know now. They had no way of knowing that the man we were investigating would have such an impact on the world as he does today. They, we, were mistaken.

If we had known back during the days of Project Sally, that Milo Rambaldi would play such a huge role in future events, we would have put much more importance on our discoveries." Vaughn stopped and waited for the inevitable fallout from his statement. Sydney may have promised to stay quiet until he was finished but he knew her and he knew she would never be able let a bombshell like that go without comment.

He couldn't help but smile slightly at the shocked expression on her face. "A-a-are you...serious?"

Vaughn nodded his head solemnly. "Yes, I'm completely serious. Project Sally was created by the CIA to study, gather data and intelligence, and acquire whatever Rambaldi artifacts we could."

"You mean to tell me that you've worked on Rambaldi before?"

Vaughn did not like the rising tone of Sydney's voice. Warning signs were flashing inside his mind. "Yes."

Sydney's voice rose even louder, "And you're just telling me this now? After almost two years? You didn't think that this was something that might have been considered, oh I don't know, important!?" Sydney practically shouted the last part.

Vaughn shrugged his shoulders helplessly. "I wanted to, for so long I wanted to tell you, but I couldn't. It was classified, Sydney. You know that protocol sometimes forbids me from disclosing certain things to you. It's part of the job."

Sydney said angrily, "Screw protocol, Vaughn. This isn't about protocol, this is about you trusting me. This is about you withholding information that might have been important to taking down SD-6. I mean I've been working on retrieving Rambaldi artifacts for the last two years."

Vaughn felt his own anger enter his voice. She thought he didn't trust her? "How the hell can you say that I don't trust you? If I didn't trust you, I wouldn't be sitting here in this warehouse telling you about a past that I would prefer to keep buried. Hell, if I didn't trust you I wouldn't be here at all!"

Sydney was surprised by Vaughn's vehemence but it did little to quench her anger. She was about to open her mouth to retort when Vaughn cut her off. "I trust you, Sydney. More than I should." He paused and then he spoke low, but confidently, "After the debacle with Elisa, I made a promise to myself that I would never break protocol again. Breaking protocol was what had gotten me into trouble the last time, and I never wanted to go through that again. You have no idea how hard it is for me to be what you want me to be, Sydney. Everyday I'm with you I break that promise that I made to myself, and everyday I wonder if I'm making the right decision.

But all I have to do is look at you and I know that you're worth it. You're brave, intelligent, kind, strong, and the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. But you know that. You know how I feel about you, whether you admit it to yourself or not. You know, deep down, that I would do anything for you. If you doubt that, than nothing I say to you will convince you otherwise. I trust you, Sydney, but do you trust me?"

Vaughn finally finished and fell into himself. He could not believe what he had just done. That was the closest he had come to ever telling Sydney how he really felt about her. Whatever protocol had been between them was effectively gone now. He might as well just tell her he was in love with her while he was at it. It wasn't like things could get any worse. 

Well, maybe he had been slightly wrong on that. Things could get worse. Like Sydney not saying anything at all to his confession. That was definitely worse. 

"Uh...Syd...are you ok?" Vaughn asked tentatively.

Sydney started to cry and Vaughn immediately grew concerned. He got off his crate and in one smooth stride he sat down next to her. He placed his arm across her shoulders and pulled her in close to his body. Unconsciously, his fingers slowly massaged her back in soothing circles. Gently he asked, "What's wrong? Are you ok?"

Sydney nodded her head very slowly and she looked up at Vaughn. Her eyes seemed larger than usual and Vaughn began to lose himself in their watery depths. He quickly shut his own eyes before he became too overwhelmed. He opened them again when she began to speak.

Sydney's voice was almost pleading. "I'm so sorry, Vaughn. I-I didn't mean to say you didn't trust me. I know you do. You trust me as much as I trust you, and there is nobody that I trust more than you. It's just that hearing you say that you know so much about Rambaldi and that you've been keeping this from me for so long really hurt me."

"I know, Sydney, and I understand. But you have to understand that this happened four years ago and its something I don't like remembering." Vaughn paused and then added, "Plus, we were fools Sydney. We didn't understand what we had. We didn't know who Rambaldi really was. We just thought he was some crackpot. We were more interested in the people interested in Rambaldi than we were interested in Rambaldi himself. We had no idea of the kind of power he possessed. If we had, we would not have made the mistakes that we did."

"So, what do you think of Sydney?" Tiffany asked Kyle inquisitively.

Kyle shrugged his shoulders noncommittally. "Seeing as how I've only known her for about five minutes, I can't really tell. She seems nice enough and she's certainly gorgeous. That's about all I can tell you."

"Aw come on! You telling me that with all those spy skills of yours that's all you got off her? I mean come on, any person with eyes can see she's beautiful." Tiffany cajoled. 

Kyle smiled indulgently at Tiffany. "Fine. It's obvious that Michael trusts her. Although that could be because he has a thing for her. And if this is the Sydney Bristow that I've heard about, then she could probably take you on, Tiffany." Kyle grinned at that.

A devilish grin appeared on Tiffany's face. "I certainly wouldn't mind her trying. In fact, I might enjoy it."

Kyle's eyes widened slightly. "That's just wrong. I so did not need to hear that."

Tiffany's eyes sparkled. "Don't tell me old age has made you all stuffy. What happened to the fun loving Kyle I used to know?"

Kyle snorted. "First off, I would hardly call 39 old. Secondly, I enjoy fun as much as the next guy but I don't consider hearing about your sex life to be my idea of a good time. I've known you since you were 18. I feel like your father!"

Tiffany sniffled and started to mock cry. "Ah, you're gonna make me get all teary."

Kyle glared at her. "Mock if you want, but it doesn't change how I feel. And I know that Michael feels the same way."

"Nah. Mikey is like my brother, not my father. He's not that old." Tiffany couldn't help getting another little dig in.

Kyle just ignored Tiffany and sat down on a crate. He let out a barely audible sigh. Tiffany picked up on it immediately. "Are you still hurting?"

"Sometimes. It comes and goes." Kyle then laughed self-deprecatingly. "I don't heal as well as I used to." 

"Speaking of which, when are you going to explain that? I know that right now Mikey is seriously questioning your loyalties."

Kyle responded tiredly, "As soon as Mike is finished telling his girlfriend about Project Sally." Kyle stopped and looked at his watch. He lifted his head back up and grinned at Tiffany. "I think half an hour is long enough. Its time I got this over with."

Kyle stood up and wordlessly moved to Tiffany. He helped her to her feet and she leaned on him. She mumbled thanks. They took a few steps in quiet, that is until Tiffany said, "20 bucks say they're doing something they're not supposed to be doing."

Kyle grinned down at Tiffany. "Deal."

They resumed their quiet walking until Tiffany interrupted their monotony by mumbling, "Easiest 20 bucks I ever made."

  
  


Now that Sydney was calm and in control again, Vaughn realized that he had no real reason to keep his arm around her. But he honestly didn't care. It felt too good to remove his arm and he had no intention of doing so. Unless Sydney asked him too of course, but she seemed to enjoy having his arm there as much as he did.

"Mistakes? What went wrong, Vaughn? Why did you have to kill Elisa?" Sydney wondered, ruining the moment slightly.

Vaughn sighed. He had wanted to savor this closeness just a little longer before he answered her questions. But that didn't seem possible. He gave her shoulder a comforting squeeze and then he reluctantly pulled himself away from her. He didn't leave her crate, but he wasn't touching her anymore either.

Vaughn slouched slightly and his eyes darkened. "The whole project went wrong, Sydney. Everything." Vaughn paused. "The problems first started when the original project leader died of a heart attack. Devlin and the CIA wanted to shut the project down after that but I managed to convince them to keep it running. Apparently, they liked my enthusiasm so much that they put me in charge."

Vaughn saw Sydney smile at that and it made him grin half-heartedly in return. "Everyone on the team was older than me, with the exception of Tiffany and Elisa, but they claimed that as the team's analyst I was the most experienced and qualified on the team to run an op. The others were reluctant at first, worrying that I didn't have enough experience in the field, but after a while we worked out our differences. I wanted to be the project leader so bad. I arrogantly thought that I could do a better job than Peterson had."

Vaughn sighed. "I might have been right if I hadn't also started getting involved with Elisa at the same time. We had known each other for two years and we had gradually grown close. So we dated, if you could call it that, and I opened up to her, about everything." Vaughn paused and shook his head in self-disgust. "I should have listened to Kyle when he told me that getting involved with Elisa was a bad idea. But I didn't. In hindsight, I wish that someone had reported to Langley about Elisa and me, but we had been a family and we didn't betray each other. They kept their mouth shuts about the whole thing, and I thought that I could keep our professional and private lives separate. That had been my first mistake. Soon after that, everything began to go downhill."

Vaughn straightened and locked gazes with Sydney. "Everything came to a head in June of 99'. We were in Prague on a routine intelligence and retrieval mission. We were shadowing a man named Ivan Romanivic, a known arms dealer with ties to the Russian mafia, K-Directorate, and to the Alliance. He was, of course, also an admirer of Rambaldi. We had heard that he had recently come into possession of a manuscript said to contain a sort of index of all of Rambaldi's inventions. Needless to say, we wanted that manuscript, and we wanted it before anyone else got to it first."

Sydney interrupted with a question, "I'm assuming you didn't get it because I would have heard about it if you had. Right?"

Vaughn nodded his head in agreement. He sighed, "Yeah. Things pretty much went to hell. In one night, two of my team were shot, Elisa was unveiled as a traitor, and we lost the manuscript to K-Directorate. That was the worst night of my life and I still have nightmares about everything that happened." 

There was something that Sydney was curious about. "Why did Elisa become a double, Vaughn?"

Vaughn shook his head and shrugged his shoulders. He answered her question slowly, "I don't know for sure. She wasn't always a double. There had been a time where she had been loyal. Why she turned, I don't know. Part of me wants to believe that she had motives more complicated and noble than the evidence showcased, but the other part of me, the part that was betrayed by her, refuses to believe that her reasons were more noble than simple greed. She was paid a lot of money to do what she did."

Subtle surprise, laced with disgust, graced Sydney's features. "Money? She turned double for money?" Sydney's felt disgust at hearing that Elisa had turned double for something as petty as greed. She knew that she shouldn't be so surprised but she couldn't help but feel how she did. For herself, justice had always been her motivation. Money wasn't even an afterthought.

"As far as I know. I think there was more to the situation than that, but she never had much of a chance to explain herself. She died that night."

Vaughn lowered his head and his eyes clouded in remembered pain. His mind flashed back to that night in Prague and he began telling Sydney everything.

  


Flashback-

  


Vaughn carefully placed the earpiece in his ear as he chuckled at Perez's latest joke. He turned his head to glance at Miguel Perez. "That was a low blow man. You know how Dave feels about his hair."

Perez plugged a cord into a video monitor and looked over his shoulder at Vaughn. "Of course. If Dave could have sex with his hair he'd never look at another woman ever again."

Vaughn laughed loudly at that and his laugh carried over the com system. Kyle's voice came on over the link, "Hey, do you think you two could keep it quiet? Some of us have to actually work for a living. Not all of us are lucky enough to sit on our asses in some plush van while us fools risk our lives for God and country."

Elisa's voice came over the com, "Speak for yourself, Kyle. Not all of us are fools." Vaughn smiled at Elisa's comment.

His smile quickly waned however when he realized how soon the conversation could get out of hand. He needed to restore order before mission protocol completely broke down. He made his voice light, but firm, "Ok guys. Joke times over. It's time we got down to business. Report."

Kyle responded first, "Two minutes out. Romanivic's compound is in sight."

Elisa was next, "Steve and I our making our rounds now. It looks like two, maybe, three guards in the main hall."

Dave Hollister was next. "Just entering the kitchen now. These waiter suits are so damn uncomfortable. Haven't they heard of breathable fabric here?"

Tiffany was the last to report in, as usual. Her response was filled with indignation, "Uncomfortable!? Try getting felt up by every man in the room and then you'll know what uncomfortable really is. Until then, stop whining you baby."

Dave snorted over the com but didn't retort. Vaughn grinned. "Ok. Stop picking on poor Dave. He can't help it that he's a conceited and arrogant bastard."

"Of course I am. And that's why you guys love me." Vaughn could practically see the smile through the com. 

Vaughn glanced down at his watch and started at the time. He spoke into the com, "Dave, you got less than five. Romanivic will be expecting his food any minute now."

"Roger, boss. Picking up the order now."

Vaughn swivelled around on his chair to check the tv monitors on Perez's side of the van. A jerky image of a hallway could be seen, it was obvious Dave had reached the hallway that led to Romanivic's study.

Vaughn could see two guards, one on each side of the door that led to Romanivic's study; it looked like Elisa had been right. That was good. Elisa and her partner, Steve Kirkpatrick, could handle two guards without breaking a sweat.

Dave reached the door that led to the study and Vaughn heard the guards stop Dave. The camera on Dave's uniform was hidden in one of the buttons on Dave's jacket. Dave spoke a few words in Russian and the guard on the right opened the door to let Dave in.

As soon as the door was shut, Vaughn calmly spoke into the com. "Ok, Dave's in. Elisa and Steve, you're on. Watch his back. If he needs help, you know what to do." 

Elisa responded curtly, "Of course."

Vaughn made a quick glance at Elisa's monitor before moving on. "Tiffany, how are you doing?"

"Good. I just spotted Romanivic's head of security. I'm going to go keep him...busy."

Vaughn cringed at that. He hated this aspect of the job. "Fine, but don't do anything I wouldn't do."

"Do I ever?" Tiffany asked.

Vaughn heard a snicker. Vaughn recognized the person's voice immediately. And from the irritated tone in Tiffany's voice, she did too. "You are so going to pay for that, Kyle."

Vaughn cut in before the bickering could continue. "Are you and Krugar in position yet, Kyle?"

"Yep. Freddy is securing the perimeter."

"Shit! Vaughn!" 

Vaughn snapped his head to Perez who had uttered the expletive. He asked urgently, "What?"

Perez pointed at the monitor designated for Elisa's camera. What he saw filled him with a deep sense of dread. Elisa was struggling violently with one of the guards outside Romanivic's study. The stark bluish-gray picture suddenly went horizontal as Elisa was thrown to the ground. Where the hell was Steve?

That was when Vaughn saw that Steve was having trouble with his own guard. From Elisa's camera, Vaughn could see Steve let loose with an uppercut that connected on the edge of the guard's jaw. The guard's head flew back, but he managed to snap a fist out that caught a glancing blow on Steve's right shoulder. Steve staggered back under the force and...

Suddenly the picture was jarred again as Elisa sprung to her feet and attacked the guard with a vengeance. She had been on the ground for less than five seconds.

Vaughn practically shouted into the com, "What the hell are you two doing? Dave wasn't in any trouble. Why did you break cover?" He got no response. "Elisa? Steve?"

He looked back down to the monitor just in time to see Elisa fly into the air and kick the guard in the face. The guard fell to the ground with a thud. Vaughn sighed in relief. She was okay.

But his relief soon turned into fear again as Elisa suddenly staggered forward. "Elisa? Are you ok?"

Again, he got no response and his fear turned to panic when Elisa fell to the ground. She didn't move and her camera suddenly went dark. Vaughn shouted into the coms, "Tiffany! Get in there now. Elisa and Steve need your help."

"On my way!"

Vaughn tapped Perez on the shoulder and said, "We're moving."

Perez nodded his head and got off his seat and moved to the front of the van. He started the van and it soon sped off down the streets. Vaughn continued shouting into the com. "Kyle! Be prepared for a hot extraction. You may need to go in and pull them out."

Kyle's voice was all business when he responded, "Right." Vaughn heard a barely audible clicking sound; it sounded exactly like a gun being loaded.

Vaughn then snapped his eyes to Dave's monitor. To his relief, Romanivic was unconscious and slumped in his chair. Dave was frantically searching the study for the Rambaldi manuscript. Dave's voice came over the com, "It's not here! I can't find it. The intel must have been wrong."

Vaughn cursed under his breath. "Get out of there Dave. Now! Forget the manuscript."

Dave started to move towards the door when a muted pop went off. Dave instantly froze and shouted out, "Shit! That was a gun." Dave ran to the door and tentatively opened it.

Vaughn was screaming in the com the whole time, "What the hell is going on!? Somebody tell me!" Vaughn almost fell off his chair when Perez took a sharp turn.

Vaughn righted himself and focused his harried gaze on Dave's monitor. The door moved just enough for Dave to briefly stick his head out into the hallway. Two seconds later, he pulled his head back into the safety of the study. He reported his findings to Vaughn, "Shit, Vaughn. Steve's down. Looks like a shot to the shoulder. I think he's unconscious."

Before Vaughn could stop himself he asked desperately, "And Elisa?"

"Sorry man. I didn't see her. The hallway looked clear. I'm going to check on Steve."

Vaughn didn't think that was such a good idea and he told Dave so. "Wait for Tiffany, Dave. She should reach the hallway in less than two minutes."

"There's no time. Steve could bleed out before then. I'm pretty sure its all clear."

Dave opened the door just enough to slip out into the hallway. He crouched low and hugged the wall. "All clear. The two guards are down. Unconscious."

That piqued Vaughn's interest. "Unconscious? Then who shot Steve?"

"Don't know. Whoever did it is long gone."

Footsteps could be heard approaching Dave's position. At first, both Vaughn and Dave thought it was Tiffany, but when Dave twisted his body to look in the direction of the footsteps, both men were surprised to see Elisa coming down the ornately decorated hallway. 

Vaughn let loose a loud sigh of relief, as did Dave, at the sight of Elisa. Thank god!

"Elisa! What happened to you?" Dave paused and then said, "Never mind, Steve's been shot. We've got to get hi..." Dave never finished. Vaughn could only watch in mind numbing disbelief as Elisa suddenly pulled a silenced pistol from behind her back and shot Dave twice in the chest. 

Dave's camera immediately cut out and Vaughn could hear a violent exhale escape from Dave's lips as he fell to the ground unceremoniously. Vaughn shouted helplessly into the com, "Dave!? Dave!? Can you hear me?" Nothing.

Vaughn could not believe what happened. Elisa had just shot Dave. Elisa. Her name kept repeating inside his head, the disbelief growing with every utterance. This was all a bad dream. His girlfriend did not just pull out a gun and shoot one of his closest friends. This wasn't possible.

Kyle's jarring voice pulled Vaughn back to the matter at hand. "Vaughn? What the hell is going on?"

Vaughn quickly composed himself. He could deal with the Elisa thing later. He had a job to do. Mainly making sure the rest of his teammates lived thru the night. Vaughn spoke as calmly and collectively as he could into the com. "Steve and Dave are both down." Vaughn let that knowledge sink in and then continued, "Tiffany, change of plans. Rendevous with Kyle and Fred and extract Steve and Dave."

"Acknowledged. What about Elisa?"

Vaughn swallowed. "Elisa has gone rogue." As expected that bombshell brought forth a round of surprise. Vaughn ignored them. "Miguel and I have almost reached the compound." Vaughn paused and then said determinedly, "I'll deal with Elisa."

"Hell no! I'll take care of Elisa, Vaughn. You help Kyle and Freddy extract Steve and Dave." Tiffany's stringent protests came over the com.

Vaughn growled out, "No! Elisa is mine. You're already onsite. It would take me too long to reach the rendevous point. I'm telling you to help Kyle." This was personal. Elisa was _his_ problem. No one else was going to deal with her but him.

Tiffany sighed loudly. She said timidly, "Be careful, Mikey. Elisa is almost as good as me. Don't let your emotions control you."

The van came to a screeching halt and Vaughn ripped the com off his ear. He moved to the back of the van and unholstered his gun. He turned his head and shouted over his shoulder to Perez, "Contact Langley and tell them we've been compromised. We need immediate extraction."

Perez shouted back, "What about you?"

Vaughn closed his eyes and opened the back door. "If I don't contact you in an hour, leave without me. I'm probably dead."

And then Vaughn leapt out of the van and started running to the large sprawling mansion in front of him. He heard the van take off, its tires squealing.

It wasn't until he was running in the dark of night that he realized that he knew next to nothing. He had no idea where Elisa was, why she was doing the things she was doing, or how he was going to stop her. Romanivic's compound was large enough that he could spend the rest of the night searching for Elisa and probably never find her.

Vaughn crouched low to the ground and ran across the large grassy open area that separated the walls of Romanivic's compound and his mansion. He was about fifty feet from the left wing of the mansion when he spotted her. It was blind luck really. He had been looking to his left checking for any signs of guards when he had caught movement in the moonlight. At first he had thought the movement was a guard on patrol, but when he focused on the person, he realized that they were running and a guard had no reason to be running. Especially no reason to be running _away_ from the house.

He wasn't sure that it was Elisa, but it seemed like a logical choice. And really, what were his other options? Search the house while avoiding all of Romanivic's security personnel? Not really an option. Besides, whoever the person was, if they were running that meant they were running away from something and that meant they were doing something they shouldn't be doing.

After only hesitating briefly, Vaughn took off after the running individual. His long legs allowed him to cover a lot of ground rather quickly and he was soon close enough to the runner to at least make out the person's shape. The body looked decidedly female, and despite being over fifty feet away, the moon was bright enough for Vaughn to recognize the person immediately. Even from the back he would recognize the person anywhere. It was Elisa. 

A deep pang settled in his chest and he felt despair overwhelm him. What was he going to do? He did the first thing that came to mind. He yelled, "Elisa! Stop!"

For the rest of his life Vaughn would wonder why Elisa did exactly what he told her to. As soon as he shouted, she turned her head to look over her shoulder, and she just...stopped. Vaughn was surprised that she had done what he said, but he quickly adopted a stoic demeanor. Remember Tif's words, 'Don't let your emotions control you.' It was sound advice.

He immediately raised his gun and aimed at her. "Turn around and throw your gun towards me."

Elisa turned around, but she did not throw her gun away. Instead she raised her gun, mimicking his stance. "Michael." His name rolled off her tongue, breathless and low.

Vaughn slowly walked towards her, making sure to keep his gun on her at all times. "Throw your gun away, Elisa."

"No." Was her only response.

Vaughn sighed. She had always been stubborn. "Why did you do it?"

The moonlight reflected off her blonde hair and cast her face in shadow. "I had to, Michael. I had to."

Vaughn asked confused, "What do you mean you had to?" His voice became angry, "You had to shoot Dave? You had to betray our country?" His voice suddenly grew low and painful, "You had to betray me?"

There was regret in Elisa's voice when she responded to Vaughn's desperate inquiries. "I'm sorry, Michael. I really am. Dave wasn't supposed to be there at that time. I had to shoot him."

"Bullshit! You just walked down that hall and shot him." Vaughn yelled.

Elisa cringed. "You don't understand. I had to, Michael. I just had to. It was the only way I could give the manuscript to my handler and get my money."

Vaughn's jaw dropped in disbelief. "Money! You're doing this for money?"

Elisa didn't answer. Vaughn just shook his head in disgust. "I hope it was worth it."

Elisa lowered her head. "I-I-I'm sorry, Michael." She stuttered out.

Vaughn clinched his eyes. "Stop calling me that! You don't deserve to call me that anymore." Vaughn then opened his eyes and felt an influx of resolve. "You're coming with me, Elisa. I'm taking you back to Langley."

"No. I can't let you do that, Michael. I know too much. They would never let me live."

"You'll be in CIA custody. Nobody will be able to hurt you."

Elisa shook her head. "You don't understand, Michael. The CIA can't stop them. No one can."

"Who is this they?" Vaughn asked.

"I don't know. I'm only contacted through my handler. He gives me my countermissions and my money. That's all I know."

Countermissions? Vaughn was afraid to ask his next question. "How...long have you been a double?"

"Since a month after we started dating."

"Two years! You've been doing this for almost two years and I didn't know a damn thing." Vaughn was disgusted with himself as much as he was with her.

"It wasn't your fault, Michael. You were blinded by love."

Vaughn asked bitterly, "And you weren't?"

Elisa's face softened. "I have feelings for you, yes. I'm not that good an actress. Whether it was love, I don't know. But I chose my path, as did you."

"I can't let you go, Elisa. You know that."

"I know. And I can't let you take me back."

Elisa then turned her back on Vaughn and started walking away. Vaughn felt sweat bead on his forehead and he narrowed his eyes. "Stop! Don't make me shoot you, Elisa. I can't let you go. You know too much about the project."

Elisa stopped and turned back around. "You won't shoot me, Michael. You don't have it in you. You never did."

She then turned back around and started walking to the large copse of trees at the edge of Romanivic's compound.

Vaughn closed his eyes and said quietly to Elisa. "You're wrong." And then he pulled the trigger.

To be continued...........................

  
  


P.S. Well it has been a laborious journey but I finally managed to kick my ass into gear and finish this chapter. Thank Jeebus. This chapter is by far the hardest chapter I have ever written for any story. So much time, rewrites, research, and booze went into this chapter that I really don't know whether or not it was even worth my time. I didn't even manage to include everything I said I would way back when I posted chapter 10. Oh well. Now that I got this ABC network executive sized monkey off my back, new chapters should just roll out. In fact chapter 12 is already at least 50% complete. 

P.S. I got to thinking on Saturday as I was digging a 100 ft. trench in some guy's backyard, with a shovel no less. A freaking SHOVEL!! Do you have any idea how long it takes to dig a 100 ft. trench with only a shovel? No? I didn't think so. Let's just say that it was not a pleasurable experience. God, I hate my job. Anyway, not that you care, so back to the matter at hand. I'm looking at five, maybe, six more chapters. I have a pretty good idea on how I want to end the story. And since this is an S/V piece, and since I have to have my annual Sydney quota fulfilled, I think it would be a safe assumption on your part that there will be an S/V ending. However, that's not always a good thing and it might not be what you think. 

P.S. Oh, I just thought I should let you all know that I now have a new obsession. Yay me! Now I know what you're saying, "But wait, what about Jen?" Well, don't worry I have certainly not forgotten her. Jen is my first and will always be my favorite, but I've recently become obsessed with Eliza Dushku as well. I just can't help myself. She is just too perfect. So now I have two unhealthy obsessions with women I have absolutely no chance with (At least Eliza is not married). Is my life pathetic or what? Wait, don't answer that. I think I'm just going to go to bed and dream of a threesome with Jen, Eliza, and me. So don't wake me, all right? I mean it. Just don't. Let me have my dreams.


End file.
